DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to use US ISTAR air assets with the Queen Elizabeth class of carrier.

Philip Dunne: There are no current plans to operate US ISTAR assets from the Queen Elizabeth class carrier; but the ship has the ability to operate with the US ISTAR assets subject to a range of agreements and the nature of the operation which the UK and US would be undertaking.

Apprentices

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many apprentices working in his Department are (a) paid and (b) completing a qualification as part of the apprenticeship;
	(2)  how many (a) paid apprentices and (b) paid interns are employed in his Department.

Mark Francois: As at 17 October 2012, there were 172 apprentices on the Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian payroll, all of whom are paid and working towards qualifications as part of their apprenticeship. The MOD employed five interns for an eight-week period in the summer of 2012, all of whom were paid.

Armed Forces

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many foreign and commonwealth armed forces personnel there were in the UK armed forces, by country and service, in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The following table shows the strength of UK armed forces personnel by service and nationality, at 1 September 2012:
	
		
			   Total Naval service Army RAF 
			 Total  179,320 34,900 105,720 38,700 
			       
			 UK Total 166,460 34,090 93,860 38,510 
			  British 166,170 34,080 93,580 38,500 
			  British Hong Kong 100 — 100 — 
			  British Overseas Territory Citizen 200 10 180 10 
			       
			 Non-UK Total 12,860 800 11,860 190 
		
	
	
		
			  Antiguan — — — — 
			  Australian 80 20 60 10 
			  Austrian — — — — 
			  Bahamian — — — — 
			  Bangladeshi 20 — 20 — 
			  Barbadian 10 — 10 _ 
			  Belgian — — — — 
			  Belizean 50 — 50 — 
			  Bermudan — — — — 
			  Botswanan 30 — 30 — 
			  Cameroonian 100 — 100 — 
			  Canadian 60 20 40 — 
			  Citizen of Fiji 2,260 140 2,110 10 
			  Citizen of Seychelles 20 — 20 — 
			  Citizen of Sri Lanka 20 — 20 — 
			  Citizen of St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis — — — — 
			  Citizen of Vanuatu — — — — 
			  Dominican 40 10 30 — 
			  Dutch — — — — 
			  Gambian 320 20 300 — 
			  German — — — — 
			  Ghanaian 910 10 900 — 
			  Gibraltarian — — — — 
			  Grenadian 150 10 140 — 
			  Guyanese 20 — 20 — 
			  Indian 150 — 140 — 
			  Irish 490 60 400 30 
			  Jamaican 460 30 420 10 
			  Kenyan 270 10 250 — 
			  Lesotho — — — — 
			  Malawian 250 10 240 — 
			  Malaysian 10 — — — 
			  Maltese 10 — 10 — 
			  Mauritanian — — — — 
			  Mauritian 70 — 60 — 
			  Namibian — — — — 
			  Nepalese 4,160 — 4,160 — 
			  New Zealander 80 10 60 10 
			  Nigerian 250 10 230 — 
			  Norwegian — — — — 
			  Pakistani 20 — 20 — 
			  Papua New Guinean — — — — 
			  Polish — — — — 
			  Rwandan — — — — 
			  Sierra Leonean 40 — 40 — 
			  Singaporean — — — — 
			  South African 910 110 790 10 
			  St Helenian 10 — 10 — 
			  St Lucian 280 10 270 — 
			  Swazi 20 — 20 — 
			  Tanzanian 10 — 10 — 
			  Tongan 10 — 10 — 
		
	
	
		
			  Trinidad and Tobago citizen 100 30 60 10 
			  Ugandan 90 — 90 — 
			  United States citizen — — — — 
			  Vincentian 570 240 330 — 
			  Yugoslavian — — — — 
			  Zambian 50 10 40 — 
			  Zimbabwean 350 20 320 10 
			       
			 Unknown  80 — 10 70

Armed Forces Covenant

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the armed forces covenant includes soldiers and veterans from Northern Ireland.

Mark Francois: holding answer 22 October 2012
	The armed forces covenant extends to members of the armed forces community wherever they originate and wherever they live in the United Kingdom.

Armed Forces: Business Interests

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the procedure is for briefing retired senior military personnel on the rules regarding business appointments.

Mark Francois: The rules regarding business appointments for retiring and retired members of the armed forces are regulated by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. On appointment/promotion to OF6 (1 star) level in the armed forces, military officers are required to sign an acknowledgement that they have seen the rules contained in this policy document A similar acknowledgement is requested on retirement or resignation from the armed forces.

Armed Forces: Children

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding under the Barnett consequentials has been given to the Welsh Assembly Government by his Department for the implementation of the Service Pupil Premium in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	Funding for the Service Pupil Premium was allocated to Department for Education at the 2010 spending review and therefore was taken into account in determining the Welsh Government Block Grant for the spending review period.

Armed Forces: Courts Martial

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many courts martial were conducted in each rank range of each armed service in each year between 2000 and 2011.

Mark Francois: The information on the number of courts martial by Service conducted in each year between 2000 and 2011, for the years it is available, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Service 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Army 454 632 505 471 522 645 530 653 646 522 535 549 
			 Royal Air Force (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 50 31 31 18 
			 Royal Navy/Royal Marines (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 61 53 55 50 45 51 68 57 
			 (1 )Not known. 
		
	
	This information is broken down by grade in each Service, where it is available in the following table:
	
		
			 Courts martial by rank 2000-11 
			   2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total 
			 Army               
			 Colonel OF-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 5 
			 Lieutenant Colonel OF-4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Major OF-3 3 4 3 0 0 2 2 4 2 2 0 2 24 
			 Captain OF-2 2 5 3 5 2 5 2 3 3 1 2 1 34 
			 Lieutenant OF-1 1 0 3 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 9 
			 2 Lieutenant OF-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Warrant Officer 1 OR-9 1 1 3 0 2 2 1 0 0 3 3 0 16 
			 Warrant Officer 2 OR-8 6 4 5 4 4 6 4 3 7 5 8 4 60 
			 Staff Sergeant OR-7 8 18 8 8 9 14 4 12 11 8 2 12 114 
			 Sergeant OR-6/5 18 24 25 16 28 22 23 28 16 17 16 14 247 
			 Corporal OR-4 41 79 38 41 60 65 56 51 50 45 37 41 604 
			 Lance Corporal OR-3 56 76 57 64 65 84 66 82 81 71 65 70 837 
			 Private OR-2/1 316 411 356 327 351 434 465 465 475 465 394 405 4,864 
			 Civilian(1) N/A 2 9 4 5 1 10 7 2 — 3 5 — 48 
		
	
	
		
			 Total  454 632 505 471 522 645 630 653 646 622 535 549 6,864 
			 (1 )Civilians subject to Army/Service discipline. Notes: 1. The Army figures include Royal Marines up to 31 October 2009. 2. Army OR-2/1 includes all variations of the lowest Army rank. 
		
	
	
		
			   2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total 
			 Royal Navy               
			 Captain OF-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Commander OF-4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 
			 Lieutenant Commander OF-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Lieutenant OF-2 0 (1)— 0 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 3 0 9 
			 Second Lieutenant OF-1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 
			 Midshipman OF-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warrant Officer 1 OR-9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 
			 Warrant Officer 2 OR-8 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Chief Petty Officer OR-7 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 2 8 
			 Petty Officer OR-6/5 0 0 0 0 5 4 3 8 3 1 3 5 32 
			 Leading Hand OR-4 0 0 0 0 8 15 7 12 8 13 8 14 85 
			 Able Seaman OR-2/1 0 0 0 0 44 39 38 28 34 36 44 30 293 
			 Total  0 0 0 0 61 63 55 50 45 51 61 53 439 
			 (1)No records 
		
	
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Total 
			 Royal Marines              
			 Captain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 
			 Warrant Officer 0 0 (1)— 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Colour Sergeant 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Sergeant 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 
			 Corporal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Lance Corporal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 1 
			 Marine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 3 
			 Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 4 11 
			 (1 )Included in Army. 
		
	
	Information on the ranks of RAF personnel who have faced court martial is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Courts Martial

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many defendants of each rank and in each service in courts martial pleaded (a) not guilty, (b) guilty, (c) not guilty and were convicted, (d) not guilty, were convicted and subsequently appealed to the Courts Martial Appeal Court, (e) not guilty, were convicted, subsequently appealed to the Courts Martial Appeal Court and were acquitted and (f) not guilty, were convicted, subsequently appealed to the Courts Martial Appeal Court and had their sentence reduced in each year between 2000 and 2011; and what the case names of neutral citation references were in cases where the Courts Martial Appeal Court acquitted or reduced a sentence.

Mark Francois: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many summary hearings were conducted in each rank of each armed service in each year between 2000 and 2011; and at what level such hearings were conducted.

Mark Francois: The information on the number of hearings, for the years where this is available, is provided in the following tables. A breakdown by rank could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Royal Navy
	The following table shows how many summary trials and appeals were held between 2001 and 2011. These figures do not represent personnel, but rather the number of hearings and appeals.
	
		
			  Summary trials Summary appeal court 
			 2001 2,498 21 
		
	
	
		
			 2002 2,396 17 
			 2003 3,049 7 
			 2004 2,609 5 
			 2005 2,442 11 
			 2006 2,677 15 
			 2007 2,004 5 
			 2008 1,624 10 
			 2009 1,152 12 
			 2010 1,327 18 
			 2011 1,290 11 
			 Total 23,068 132 
		
	
	These figures represent both Royal Navy and Royal Marine Corps personnel dealt with under the Navy Chain of Command. Royal Marines dealt with by the Army Chain of Command are not included in these figures. The summary trial figures only represent those found guilty. Discontinued or acquitted summary trial results were not recorded prior to 2010.
	Army
	The following table shows how many proven summary hearings and appeals were held between 2001 and 2011. The figures for 2001 to 2004 are approximate as the legacy database that stored these figures is not considered fully accurate.
	
		
			  Summary hearings Summary appeal court 
			 2001 12,043 343 
			 2002 12,518 326 
			 2003 12,078 363 
			 2004 11,600 327 
			 2005 7,138 300 
			 2006 6,945 200 
			 2007 5,711 160 
			 2008 4,379 103 
			 2009 4,973 112 
			 2010 4,703 82 
			 2011 4,930 102 
			 Total 87,018 2,418 
		
	
	The above figures may include RN and RAF personnel who were dealt with under Army jurisdiction.
	The significant drop in numbers from 2005 represents the introduction of warnings and sanctions. Before this, everything was conducted at the summary hearing.
	Royal Air Force
	The following table shows how many summary hearings, regardless of outcome, were held between 2009 and 2011. The RAF no longer retains the information requested on summary hearings prior to 2009. I can confirm there were 462 appeals between 2001 and 2011, but it is not possible to break this down by year.
	
		
			  Summary hearings 
			 2009 1 
			 2010 27 
			 2011 38 
			 Total 66

Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what legal advice is provided to service personnel charged with an offence under (a) the summary hearing system and (b) the courts martial system; and what the public cost of such advice was in each of the last five years.

Mark Francois: All those who either elect for trial or lodge an appeal during a summary hearing and all those who are referred for court martial may apply to the Armed Forces Legal Aid Scheme for financial assistance towards legal support. The scheme is based upon the same principles as the civilian criminal legal aid system in England and Wales, and is designed to mirror it while making necessary adjustments for service life. As such, access to advice and representation provided by civilian legal representatives under the Armed Forces Legal Aid Scheme to service personnel is of the same level as that provided in civilian cases proceeding through the Crown court.
	All applications to the Armed Forces Legal Aid Scheme are subject to a means test and those whose income, and where applicable, capital exceeds, the relevant thresholds may be required to contribute towards their legally aided costs where they are convicted or unsuccessful in appeal. The total cost of aid provided in each of the last five years is:
	
		
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2008-09 1.9 
			 2009-10 2.1 
			 2010-11 1.3 
			 2011-12 1.4 
			 2012-13 (up to 14 October 2012) 0.8 
		
	
	These are gross figures for each financial year and do not take account of monies reclaimed from convicted offenders and unsuccessful appellants by way of contributions.

Armed Forces: Disciplinary Proceedings

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many defendants in summary hearings pleaded (a) not guilty, (b) guilty, (c) not guilty and were convicted, (d) not guilty, were convicted and subsequently appealed to the Summary Appeals Court, (e) not guilty, were convicted, subsequently appealed to the Summary Appeals Court and were acquitted and (f) not guilty, were convicted, subsequently appealed to the Summary Appeals Court and had their sentence reduced.

Mark Francois: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Morale

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the state of morale in the armed forces.

Mark Francois: holding answer 18 October 2012
	The principal measure in place to monitor changes in morale within the military is the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey, the findings of which are used extensively in shaping policy for terms and conditions of service. The results of the 2012 survey were published on 23 August 2012.
	In the 2012 survey, 42% of military personnel described their morale as ‘high’, 31% as ‘neutral’ and 28% as ‘low’.
	The recommendations of the strategic defence and security review have necessitated a series of tough decisions, including reshaping our armed forces as we move towards 'Future Force 2020'. While issues such as headcount reductions and pay restraint have inevitably had an impact on morale, I continue to be impressed by the dedication of our military personnel.

Armed Forces: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers who are currently operational exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence takes the issue of mental health very seriously, and we will continue to offer a high standard of treatment and care to those who need it. In Afghanistan, a Field Mental Health Team (FMHT) provides assessment and treatment for our deployed personnel. Many of those who are assessed as having a mental disorder will be successfully treated by the FMHT, although those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (one of the most severe and uncommon disorders) would be removed from operational duties and returned to the UK for treatment.
	The UK Armed Forces Mental Health Report Annual Summary shows that between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011 (the most recent full 12-month summary available), 142 persons were assessed by the FMHT as having a form of mental disorder, none of which were PTSD. During the same period, 35 persons were aeromedically evacuated back to the UK from Afghanistan for psychiatric reasons. Of these, 24 were described as “mildly disturbed psychiatric patients”, with the other 11 being classed as either “intermediate” or “severe”.
	Service personnel with PTSD, including those returned to the UK from operational deployment, will normally be referred to and treated in one of our 15 military Departments of Community Mental Health (plus centres overseas). These offer a wide range of psychiatric and psychological treatments, including medication, psychological therapies, and environmental adjustment where appropriate. In-patient care, when necessary, is provided in specialised psychiatric units under contract with the NHS.

Armed Forces: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among former and serving soldiers.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes the issue of mental health very seriously, and we recognise that operational deployments will inevitably expose personnel to stressful experiences. The psychological welfare of troops (which covers general well-being as well as mental health) is a fundamental chain of command responsibility, and personnel benefit greatly, in terms of mental health, by being within well-led units with good support from their colleagues.
	Measures are in place to increase awareness at all levels and to mitigate the development of operational stresses. Primary preventative measures include selection for fitness at recruitment, provision of good leadership, and robust training for all personnel. Secondary preventative measures include psycho-education, use of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), and post-operational stress management, all of which aim at early detection of problems. Unit-based non-healthcare professionals such as chaplains, TRiM practitioners and welfare staff also have a vital role in supporting the chain of command in maintaining a good state of mental health among unit personnel and in signposting those in need of treatment to the Defence Medical Services. The families of returning personnel are also offered advice on the possible after-effects of an operational deployment.
	Another key aim is to reduce the stigma that is sometimes attached to mental illness, which is an issue in the civilian world as well as the armed forces. This is being actively addressed through such programmes as the Army's ‘Don't Bottle It Up’ campaign, and in the deployment briefings provided to personnel and their families. By encouraging people to come forward as soon as they begin to feel ill, we can provide treatment at an early stage and hopefully prevent the illness developing further or recurring at a later date, including after they have left the armed forces.
	Personnel leaving the armed forces are given advice on seeking help at an early stage if they have concerns about their mental health. The MOD and Department of Health (DOH) are working together to improve the mental health care provided to ex-service personnel and veterans' mental health is an area which has received significant attention from this Government in the past two years. Following the publication of the report by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison)—‘Fighting Fit’, the Government has committed £7.2 million over the remainder of the spending review period to implement its recommendations. Much work has already been completed, such as the launch of a 24-hour veterans telephone helpline, a trial of the online well-being service ‘Big White Wall’ and an e-learning package for NHS general practitioners to familiarise themselves with veteran-specific health problems.
	There has been a doubling of the number of mental health professionals conducting veterans' outreach work to 30. In addition, the number of professionals working for Combat Stress in partnership with the NHS takes this total to nearer 50. Plans are in place to establish a national veterans' mental health clinical network.
	Furthermore, each of the 10 Armed Forces Networks (based geographically in the old strategic health authority areas) has received £150,000 from the DOH with which to build up enhanced community veterans' mental health services in their areas. These services are now up and running in almost every region with the remainder planned to come on line by the end of this calendar year. These services were developed in conjunction with local groups, for the local population.

Armed Forces: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department monitors the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder in a military setting.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes the ‘UK Armed Forces Mental Health Report’ four times a year, which includes the numbers of patients attending a MOD Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) who were initially assessed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The latest report, including previously unpublished data for the period 1 April to 30 June 2012, was published on 2 October 2012, and can be found at:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=66xpubType=o

Armed Forces: Prosthetics

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel were fitted with microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knees in specialist rehabilitation centres in each of the last five years.

Mark Francois: The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court prescribe and fit prosthetics for armed forces personnel. The first microprocessor knee prescribed by DMRC was in 2008. To date, 96 armed forces personnel have been prescribed microprocessor knees which were fitted by the DMRC.
	The number of armed forces personnel prescribed and fitted by DMRC by year is as follows:
	
		
			  Armed forces personnel 
			 2008 5 
			 2009 17 
			 2010 42 
			 2011 20 
			 2012(1) 12 
			 (1 )January to18 October.

Armed Forces: Retirement

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions and for what reasons his Department's Permanent Secretary has met with retired senior armed forces personnel since May 2010.

Mark Francois: The Permanent Secretary's meetings with external organisations, including individuals external to Government, are published in accordance with the Cabinet Office's transparency guidelines on the Ministry of Defence website at the following link:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/FinancialReports/Expenses/

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what training is provided to Commanding Officers in relation to the treatment of armed forces personnel who have reported a rape or sexual assault; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what (a) information and (b) training was made available to commanding officers regarding the implications of a guilty finding at a court martial or summary hearing following the implementation of the Armed Forces Act 2006; when such information or training was made available; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: There is a designated course for commanding officers which includes briefing on their legal and disciplinary responsibilities, service complaints and the operation of the Service Justice System.
	They are briefed on a Joint Service Publication which provides definitive advice for commanding officers on the treatment of armed forces personnel who are victims of crime, including an offence of a sexual nature.
	There is no specific training relating to the implications of guilty findings at a court martial or summary hearing. However, the Manual of Service Law (MSL) provides extensive policy guidance and reference material on the Armed Forces Act 2006 to all those responsible for operating and administering the Service Justice System. This includes commanding officers, the service police forces, lawyers and court administrators. The MSL is available to all service personnel internally, via the Defence intranet, and to the general public through the MOD internet site. A copy of the MSL is in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussion he has had with veteran support agencies and charities who have worked with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder linked to (a) sexual assault and (b) rape while serving in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Ministry of Defence officials meet regularly with a number of veteran support agencies and charities. During those meetings a number of topics are discussed, including post-traumatic stress and other forms of mental ill-health, but there is no record of specific discussions relating to post-traumatic stress disorder linked to sexual assault or rape.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 616W, on armed forces: sexual offences, whether members of the armed forces who report a rape or sexual assault incident have access to civilian support services; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: I can confirm that members of the armed forces who report a rape or sexual assault in the United Kingdom are entitled to access the full range of civilian support services available. This is in addition to the extensive network of single service support which is also available.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many calls to the Speak Out helpline have been related to reports of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many calls to the Speak Out helpline have been made by foreign and Commonwealth armed forces personnel in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The Speak Out helpline provides support outside the Army chain of command relating to bullying, harassment and unfair treatment. Since the helpline opened in November 2010, it has handled one call related to sexual assault, which was made during 2012. It has received no calls relating to reported rapes.
	The helpline does not record the nationality of callers, therefore it is not possible to state the number of calls made by foreign and Commonwealth personnel.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requirements and documentation his Department needs to meet claims by veterans for compensation as a result of (a) sexual assault and (b) rape that took place when they were serving in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: When an individual is pursuing a compensation claim as a result of alleged sexual assault or rape, the Ministry of Defence would normally expect to see some or all of the following: proof of the claimant's involvement with the organisation against whom the claim is made, whether proof of employment or proof of contact with the organisation, e.g. membership of the cadets if the alleged abuser was a cadet leader; notification to the police of the allegations including a police statement and, possibly, police interview; evidence of other allegations, if there are any; and medical records indicating that the allegations have been disclosed outside of the litigation.

Armed Forces: Smallpox

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many armed forces personnel are vaccinated against smallpox;
	(2)  how many Defence Medical Services personnel are vaccinated against smallpox.

Mark Francois: A small number of armed forces and Defence Medical Services personnel are vaccinated against smallpox. However the precise figures are not released into the public domain as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Armed Forces: Yemen

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British nationals of Yemeni origin serve in the armed forces; and how many such personnel are deployed in that region for their linguistic abilities.

Mark Francois: Around 20 armed forces personnel have declared that they were born in Yemen and hold British nationality.
	None are currently deployed in the Yemeni region for their linguistic abilities.

Bale Baleiwai

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the proposed deportation of Lance Corporal Bale Baleiwai.

Mark Francois: The issue of deportation for any individual is a matter for the United Kingdom Border Agency and not for the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It is not appropriate to comment on individual cases. However, officials from the United Kingdom Border Agency and the MOD meet regularly to discuss a variety of issues including those relating to the immigration policy for Foreign and Commonwealth personnel.

Defence Munitions Longtown

Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans are in place to protect the unique resource and skilled workforce at Defence Munitions Longtown.

Philip Dunne: A ministerial decision on the future of Defence Munitions operations at Longtown is expected to be made in the near future.

Defence Technology Centres

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding his Department gave to each defence technology centre in each of the last five years.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) placed contracts for four defence technology centres (DTCs): Defence Information Fusion (DIF) DTC, which expired in March 2009, Electromagnetic Remote Sensing (EMRS) DTC, which expired in May 2010, Human Factors Integration (HFI) DTC, which expired in March 2012, and Systems Engineering for Autonomous Systems (SEAS) DTC, which expired in March 2012. The MOD's annual spend on each DTC contract over the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 DTC 
			  £ million (Exclusive of VAT at current prices) 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 DIF 5.0 4.9 — — — 
			 EMRS 5.9 5.0 5.4 — — 
			 HFI 3.1 2.8 3.3 2.5 3.6 
			 SEAS 6.2 5.2 5.0 3.8 1.8

Elbit Systems

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) Ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) senior military personnel have worked on contracts between his Department and Elbit Systems since May 2010.

Philip Dunne: Four Ministry of Defence civil servants worked on one Ministry of Defence contract placed with Elbit Systems. That contract was signed on 1 December 2010.

Elbit Systems

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts Elbit Systems has agreed with his Department since May 2010; and what the monetary value is of each contract.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has agreed one contract with Elbit Systems since May 2010. Contract Apache 020 with Elbit Systems of America, worth $127,420, signed on 1 December 2010, was for the procurement of 42 visors for Apache helicopter crew helmets.
	This contract, as with all equipment programmes, is overseen by an internal MOD Committee chaired by the Director General of Finance with majority civilian membership. This committee has an independent scrutiny team which reports to Ministers and the permanent secretary. The equipment plan is reviewed by both the committee and the scrutiny team on a quarterly basis, when all new projects are heavily scrutinised.

Hong Kong

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) the Home Department and (b) Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on granting UK passports and right of abode to people from Hong Kong who served as enlisted members of the Army during the period of UK rule.

Mark Francois: There have been no recent discussions with either the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), or the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), about granting UK passports or right of abode for people from Hong Kong who enlisted in the Army during British rule. Issues of nationality and immigration are matters for the Home Office.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which other countries were involved in the (a) procurement process and (b) purchase of the joint strike fighter.

Philip Dunne: The partner nations involved in the procurement and purchase of joint strike fighter are USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands and Turkey.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the combat range is for the (a) F-35B and (b) F-35C.

Philip Dunne: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff), gave on 3 July 2012, Official Report, column 626W, to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson).

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many joint strike fighters will be for the exclusive use of the Royal Air Force.

Philip Dunne: The UK Joint Strike Fighter (Lightning) capability will be jointly manned by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. The Lightning Force will be held at high readiness to be deployed from land or sea as required by Defence.
	Aircraft numbers are due to be confirmed as part of the next Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2015.

Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 July 2012, Official Report, columns 41-2WS, on Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre, 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect that the privatisation of this facility will have on the (a) operational activities, (b) operational effectiveness and (c) training programmes of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary;
	(2)  which Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels docked at Marchwood in each of the last three years; and what the vessel's task or purposes was on each such occasion.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the previous Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff), on 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 42W, in which he makes clear, our intention that the arrangements we are putting into place for Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre will take account of planned and contingent defence activity and will therefore not affect the operational activities and effectiveness of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary does not focus training on or around Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre and therefore any change of status is anticipated to have no effect on their training.
	The Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels which docked at Marchwood in each of the last three years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Unit Task 
			 2009  
			 Lyme Bay Alongside 
			 Mounts Bay Embarkation 
			 Lyme Bay Embarkation 
			 Mounts Bay Disembark 
			 Diligence De-store 
			 Largs Bay Embarkation 
			 Largs Bay Disembark 
			 Mounts Bay Embarkation 
			   
			 2010  
			 Largs Bay Alongside 
			 Largs Bay Cargo load 
			 Largs Bay Cargo load 
			 Mounts Bay Disembark 
			 Largs Bay Cargo offload 
			 Largs Bay Embarkation 
			 Largs Bay Alongside 
			   
			 2011  
			 Cardigan Bay Alongside 
			 Cardigan Bay Embarkation 
			 Mounts Bay Embarkation 
			 Mounts Bay Embarkation 
			 Mounts Bay Disembark 
			 Cardigan Bay Disembark 
			 Mounts Bay Exercise Hawser Link 
			 Mounts Bay Cargo load 
			 Mounts Bay November Ceremonies

Military Aid

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries have hosted a British Military Advisory Training Team since 2007; and in each such case on what dates and at what costs. [Official Report, 26 November 2012, Vol. 554, c. 1-6MC.]

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 22 October 2012
	British Military Advisory Training Teams are small military teams based permanently within the country where they are delivering military training and advice. The following table also shows other permanent small military teams that have delivered similar effect since 2007.
	
		
			    Operating costs 
			 Country Organisation Dates Year £ million 
			 Czech Republic British Military Advisory Training Team 2000-present 2007-08 (1)3.0 
			    2008-09 2.9 
			    2009-10 2.2 
			    2010-11 2.3 
			    2011-12 2.3 
			      
			 Ghana British Military Advisory Training Team Until 2010 2007-08 1.4 
			    2008-09 1.4 
			    2009-10 (2)0.4 
			      
			 Jordan British Military Advisory Training Team 2010-present  (3)— 
			      
			 Kenya British Peace Support Team (East Africa) 2000(4)-present 2007-08 2.8 
			    2008-09 3.1 
			    2009-10 2.8 
			    2010-11 2.5 
			    2011-12 2.5 
			      
			 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Royal Naval Liaison Team 1986-present  (3)— 
			      
			 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard 1964-present  (3)— 
			      
			 Kuwait British Military Mission 1992-present  (3)— 
			      
			 Libya Defence Advisory Team January 2012-present 2012 (5)1.1 
			      
			 Nigeria British Military Advisory Training Team 2008-present 2007-08 (6)2.0 
			    2008-09 0.9 
			    2009-10 0.6 
			    2010-11 0.8 
			    2011-12 0.9 
			      
			 Oman British Loan Service Team 1970s-present  (3)— 
			      
			 Qatar British Loan Service Team 2009-present  (3)— 
			      
			 Sierra Leone International Military Advisory Training Team 2000-present 2007-08 12.0 
			    2008-09 6.8 
			    2009-10 7.0 
			    2010-11 6.8 
			    2011-12 4.8 
			      
			 South Africa British Peace Support Team (South Africa) 2003-present 2007-08 0.9 
			    2008-09 0.6 
			    2009-10 0.7 
			    2010-11 1.3 
			    2011-12 1.4 
			      
		
	
	
		
			 United Arab Emirates British Loan Services Team 2001-present  (3)— 
			 (1) Annual budget allocation. Costs include a small element of training provided by external teams. (2) Costs for completing training courses and extraction of team. (3) Host country pays. (4) Originally established as British Army Training Team (Kenya). (5) Annual platform costs and operational costs. (6) Last year of BMATs predecessor organisation—the British Defence Advisory Team, Nigeria.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopters belonging to each of the armed services are in (a) the UK, (b) Afghanistan and (c) other locations.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 22 October 2012
	The total number of helicopters currently in service with the armed forces is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Service UK Other Locations(1) 
			 Royal Navy 129 0 
			 Army 120 15 
			 Royal Air Force 125 2 
			 (1) Other locations where helicopters are permanently based are the Falklands, Germany, Brunei and Canada. 
		
	
	Of those helicopters permanently based in the UK a proportion will be deployed on operations and exercises. However, I am withholding the actual number of helicopters deployed in Afghanistan as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Navy: Pay

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce the salaries of senior officers in the Royal Navy.

Mark Francois: There are no plans to reduce the salaries of senior officers in the Royal Navy.

Reserve Forces: Employment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how he plans to encourage employers to release reservists for the required extended periods of service; and what incentives and rewards he plans to provide.

Mark Francois: holding answer 17 October 2012
	A greater reliance on reserves will demand a closer relationship that benefits Defence, the employer and the reservist. We want to move towards relationships with employers based on partnering and giving greater predictability and certainty to when a reservist will be required for training or deployment.
	The Ministry of Defence will examine the effects which the adoption of the Whole Force Concept will have on employers, through the Future Reserves 2020 consultation exercise later this year. In spring 2013, following analysis of the responses, we expect to publish a White Paper detailing the future policy.

Royal Military Police: Sexual Offences

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of rape were reported to Royal Military Police in each year between 2001 and 2012; how many such cases proceeded to courts martial in each year; and in how many such cases of these cases the Service Prosecuting Authority (or its antecedent bodies) secured a conviction.

Mark Francois: In the event of an allegation of rape being made against a member of the armed forces serving overseas, the appropriate service police for each of the three services will usually investigate; this is normally the Royal Military Police in respect of the Army. In the UK, however, while there may be concurrent jurisdiction, the civilian police usually have primacy for investigation.
	Information relating to the number of rape allegations reported to the Royal Military Police against members of the Army for them to investigate is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The following table details the number of courts-martial and number of convictions of Army personnel for rape and attempted rape:
	
		
			  Number of courts-martial of Army personnel for rape and attempted rape Number of convictions at courts-martial of Army personnel for rape and attempted rape 
			 2001 6 (1)2 
			 2002 4 0 
			 2003 2 1 
			 2004 1 1 
			 2005 6 2 
			 2006 1 1 
			 2007 5 1 
			 2008 4 1 
			 2009 3 1 
			 2010 10 2 
			 2011 4 3 
			 2012 (to date) 6 2 
			 (1 )One was later quashed on appeal 
		
	
	These data may include civilians under Army jurisdiction across the period and, until October 2009, Royal Marines.

Sir John Kiszely

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any brigadiers have met Sir John Kiszely in an official capacity since May 2010.

Philip Hammond: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Territorial Army

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce the average age of the reserve forces by encouraging younger people to join the Territorial Army.

Mark Francois: The Territorial Army (TA) currently recruits officers and soldiers from the age of 18. There are no specific plans to reduce the average age of those currently serving in the TA but the TA is currently recruiting to achieve the manning required for them to become an integrated part of the Army under the Army 2020 plans. The TA offers interesting and challenging opportunities for a wide range of individuals; applications from young adults are encouraged.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 September 2012, Official Report, column 418W, in which I stated the Army intends to spend £5 million in financial year (FY) 2012-13 on the TA recruiting campaign and are now drawing up plans for the marketing campaigns in FY 2013-14.
	Current incentives for younger people include the Officer Training Corps which is part of the TA and whose purpose is to develop the leadership potential of university students, raising awareness of the Army and building interest in its career opportunities without obligation.

Territorial Army

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider renaming the Territorial Army the Army Reserve to reflect its revised role.

Mark Francois: As announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 66WS, we are currently in the process of reshaping the Reserves for their future role as part of the integrated Army 2020 force. A Green Paper is being prepared, setting out proposals on how we can establish the right relationships with society as a whole, and with employers and reservists in particular, to sustain our Reserve Forces in the future.
	Following consultation, we will be able to make informed decisions early next year. One of the areas being considered is renaming the Territorial Army as part of wider work to rebrand the Army's Reserve to better reflect its future roles in the integrated force. It should be noted that any future change to the name of the Territorial Army would ultimately require legislation.

Veterans

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support his Department provides to former service personnel to (a) help them find civilian work and (b) offer financial advice to them and their family.

Mark Francois: I refer my hon. Friend to the oral answer given by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 22 October 2012, Official Report, column 679, to the hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Hazel Blears).
	Advice given to service leavers includes “financial aspects of resettlement” briefings, to which spouses and partners are also invited, covering budget and debt management. Some 70 briefings are delivered across the UK and overseas each year. Included in the brief is advice on managing pension schemes and the charity-led ‘Benefits and Money Advice' service.
	Service leavers also have access to lifelong employment support through the Regular Forces Employment Association and Officers Association.

Veterans: Radiation Exposure

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps his Department has taken to reach agreement with nuclear test veterans over their claims for damages.

Mark Francois: There have been no recent steps by the Ministry of Defence to reach agreement over claims for damages in view of the Court of Appeal ruling in November 2010 and the Supreme Court ruling in March 2012 against the Atomic Veterans case proceeding,

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants: Pensions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the New Deal proposals to allow members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme who have been transferred to a private contractor under TUPE regulations to retain membership of the scheme.

Francis Maude: On 4 July 2012, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced in a written ministerial statement, Official Report, column 53WS, that the Government had reviewed the Fair Deal policy and agreed to maintain the overall approach, but deliver it by offering access to public service pension schemes for transferring staff. In order for access to be extended to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, it will be necessary to amend current legislation. The proposed amendment is contained in the Public Service Pensions Bill (clause 26 and schedule 9). Subject to being passed by both Houses and receiving Royal Assent the provision will come into force on the day the Act is passed (clause 37(1)(a)).

David Hartnett

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what process HM Revenue and Customs followed to inform David Hartnett prior to his retirement as Permanent Secretary for Tax of the requirement to make an application under the Rules of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments when taking up employment outside government.

Francis Maude: It is for HMRC to remind all retiring employees of their obligations under the Business Appointment Rules, as set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Duchy of Cornwall

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish the criteria used to determine when Departments and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel should consult the Duchy of Cornwall to gain its consent before proceeding with primary legislation.

Chloe Smith: The signification of the Queen's and the Prince of Wales's consent for certain Bills is a parliamentary requirement. The Cabinet Office ‘Guide to Making Legislation’ provides advice to Government Departments on seeking the Queen's and the Prince of Wales's consent and is available on the Cabinet Office website.

Embassies

John Spellar: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which UK embassies and high commissions process applications for visas originating in other countries.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	Although based in Foreign and Commonwealth Office premises, UK Border Agency officials process visa applications.
	Decision-making hubs in the following locations process applications from outside their host country:
	British high commissions: Accra (Ghana), Nairobi (Kenya), Kingston (Jamaica), New Delhi (India).
	British deputy high commission: Chennai (India).
	British consulate general: Pretoria (South Africa), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), New York (USA), Istanbul (Turkey).
	British embassies: Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing (China), Belgrade (Serbia), Bogota (Colombia), Manila (Philippines), Cairo (Egypt), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Amman (Jordan), Rome (Italy), Warsaw (Poland), Madrid (Spain), Stockholm (Sweden), Paris (France).
	An additional location for decision making is the UK Visa Section.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate how many people engaged in Government-supported employment and training programmes will enter employment in the next quarter.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for an estimate of how many people engaged in Government-supported employment and training programmes will enter employment in the next quarter. (124895)
	This information is not available, as the Office for National Statistics does not forecast estimates of employment.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many people are resident in the UK under Article 12 of European Directive 2004/38/EC, on the grounds that their associated national from an EU country has departed the UK;
	(2)  of those nationals of other EU countries and their associated family members who are resident in the UK on the basis of Article 7(1)(a) of European Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the EU and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of EU member states, how many are resident on the basis of (a) Article 7(3)(a), (b) Article 7(3)(b), (c) Article 7(3)(c) and (d) Article 7(3)(d) of that directive;
	(3)  how many nationals of other EU countries and their associated family members are resident in the UK on the basis of each of the following provisions of European Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the EU and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of EU Member States (a) Article 6, (b) Article 7(1)(a), (c) Article 7(1)(b), (d) Article 7(1)(c) and (e) Article 14(4)(b).

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking:
	1. Of those nationals of other EU countries and their associated family members who are resident in the UK on the basis of Article 7(1)(a) of European Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the EU and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of EU member states, how many are resident on the basis of (a) Article 7(3)(a), (b) Article 7(3)(b), (c) Article 7(3){c) and (d) Article 7(3)(d) of that Directive.
	2. How many nationals of other EU countries and their associated family members are resident in the UK on the basis of each of the following provisions of European Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the EU and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of EU Member States (a) Article 6, (b) Article 7(1 )(a), (c) Article 7(1 )(b), (d) Article 7(1)(c) and (e) Article 14(4)(b).
	3. How many people are resident in the UK under Article 12 of European Directive 2004/38/EC, on the grounds that their associated national from an EU country has departed the UK.
	The Office for National Statistics collects data on nationality from the Labour force Survey (LFS), which is a household survey of residents of the UK. It should be noted the survey does not include people living in most types of communal establishment.
	The LFS does not collect any information from respondents on the specific Article of the European Directive that allows them to reside in the UK. However, Table 1 provides figures on the number of nationals resident in the UK and their economic status.
	
		
			 Table 1: Economic activity of residents in the UK, by nationality, three months ending June 2012, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousand 
			  In employment ILO unemployed Inactive Aged 16 and over population Population of people aged 0-15 
			 UK nationals 26,834 2,263 17,293 46,390 10,927 
		
	
	
		
			 Non-UK EU nationals 1,398 107 436 1,990 388 
			 Non-UK Non-EU nationals 1,130 148 769 2,093 333 
			 Total 29,414 2,519 18,569 50,502 11,655 
			 Note: Includes people who have not stated their nationality. Source: Labour Force Survey

Ministerial Visits: Nottinghamshire

Mark Spencer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what ministerial visits to (a) the City of Nottingham and (b) Nottinghamshire have taken place since May 2010.

Francis Maude: Diary information for all Ministers is not held centrally. However, as part of this Government's transparency programme meetings with external organisations and individuals are published on departmental websites.

Older Workers

Martin Horwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate the number of people over 65 who have formed part of the working population in each of the last 30 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the number of people over 65 who have formed part of the working population in each of the last 30 years.(124920)
	The table shows the number of people aged 65 and over in employment for each year from 1993 to 2011. There are no annual figures available for this series prior to 1993.
	These estimates are sourced from the Labour Force Survey, a survey of households. There is a degree of uncertainty associated with these estimates as is the case with all estimates derived from sample surveys. The sampling variability attached to the estimate of 872,000 people for 2011 is +/- 74,000.
	
		
			 Number of people in employment aged 65 and over 
			  Number (thousand) 
			 1993 425 
			 1994 429 
			 1995 444 
			 1996 419 
			 1997 438 
			 1998 434 
			 1999 457 
			 2000 450 
			 2001 445 
			 2002 479 
			 2003 522 
			 2004 538 
			 2005 580 
			 2006 625 
			 2007 642 
			 2008 694 
			 2009 740 
			 2010 832 
			 2011 *872 
			 Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical R Note: The above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.) Source: Labour Force Survey

Terrorism: Greater London

John Mann: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many complaints his Department has received about the 7 July London terrorist bombings from victims or victims' families that remain unresolved.

James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Home Office is the lead Government Department on the cross-Government response to the London bombings of 7 July 2005. Investigations indicate that the Department does not have any outstanding correspondence with either the victims or victims’ families.
	The Home Office understands that there remain three outstanding claims with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority which relate to the 7/7 bombings. The Ministry of Justice in England has lead Government responsibility for the authority.
	The Government submitted a formal response to the coroner in June 2011, and a report was published on 21 May 2012 setting out what progress had been made since June 2011 by the Government and by other organisations in response to the coroner's recommendations and other comments.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Anti-slavery Day

Peter Bone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps the Government are taking to promote anti-slavery day.

Mark Harper: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	Ministers from the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on human trafficking, including myself, undertook a range of activities to raise awareness of this important issue.

SCOTLAND

Cleaning Services

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to require all cleaning contracts held by his Department to stipulate that the cleaning products used and their ingredients should not have been tested on animals.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not contract for cleaning services. Cleaning services are obtained through central procurement contracts set up by the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how the freeze in the council tax grant for 2013-14 will be calculated for each local authority;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the methodology which calculated the amount of the 2013-14 council tax freeze grant on the basis of a one per cent increase in council tax.

Brandon Lewis: The Government's press notice of 8 October set out the details of the scheme:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_89_12.htm

Council Tax

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how the council tax freeze grant for 2013-14 will be funded; whether any money will be top-sliced from the 2013-14 Local Government Finance settlement to contribute to the grant; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: As the Government's press notice of 8 October said, the Government will set aside an extra £450 million to help freeze council tax bills in England:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_89_12.htm
	This will be funded as part of the autumn statement package.

Council Tax Benefits

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of people of working age claiming council tax benefit between 2010-11 and 2013-14 in each local authority area;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of claims for council tax benefit in the year 2013-14 for each local authority area; and if he will place in the Library copies of all relevant documentation used in making that estimate.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 19 October 2012
	The change in the number of working age claimants by local authority for council tax benefit between 2010-11 and 2013-14 is not available. National forecasts by the Department for Work and Pensions indicate that council tax benefit caseload (the average number in receipt), for those below state pension age, in England, will fall from 2012-13 to 2013-14.
	This does not take into account the potential benefits from localisation, which will give councils new incentives to help people get back into work and off benefits.

Electric Cables

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with UK electrical cabling manufacturers on preventing the import and installation of counterfeit or falsely marked electrical cabling.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
	Officials from BIS and its predecessor Department have been discussing the issue of unsafe cables with UK manufacturers since 2009. This directly led to a market surveillance investigation into the state of the market by the Health and Safety Executive which concluded that while some cable did not meet the standards it claimed it was generally not unsafe and complied with product safety legislation. Industry representatives have also attended the Market Surveillance Co-ordination Committee Stakeholder Group which discusses the UK's strategic approach to market surveillance in relation to product safety.
	Marketing falsely marked products to businesses in the UK would fall within the scope of the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 which are enforced by local authority trading standards services.

Empty Property: Lancaster

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of the bid form submitted to his Department by Lancaster city council for the Clusters of Empty Homes Funding outlining its commitment to match funding for the scheme.

Don Foster: holding answer 18 October 2012
	A copy of Lancaster city council's application for funding for the Clusters of Empty Homes programme will be placed in the Library of the House.

Fire Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether any decision has been made on funding for the Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14;
	(2)  when he plans to make decisions on funding for Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

Brandon Lewis: We expect the Local Government Finance settlement for 2013-14 to be announced in late December after the autumn statement.

Fire Services

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the evidential basis is that will inform his decision on fire and rescue service funding for 2013-14.

Brandon Lewis: The basis for the Business Rates Retention scheme under which fire and rescue authorities will be funded was set out in the recent technical consultation on Business Rates Retention that began on 17 July and ended on 24 September 2012. The consultation is available at
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/brr/sumcon/index.htm
	We will also take into account any broader representations on fire funding and the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2013-14.

Housing

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria in respect of (a) housing need and (b) housing demand his Department requires to be used in drawing up local plans.

Mark Prisk: The Government's planning policies for housing are set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. Local planning authorities should prepare a Strategic Housing Market Assessment to assess their full housing needs, working with neighbouring authorities where housing market areas cross administrative boundaries. The Strategic Housing Market Assessment should identify the scale and mix of housing and the range of tenures that the local population is likely to need over the plan period which: meets household and population projections, taking account of migration and demographic change; addresses the need for all types of housing, including affordable housing, and the needs of different groups in the community; and caters for housing demand and the scale of housing supply necessary to meet this demand.
	Local planning authorities should use their evidence base to ensure that their local plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in the housing market area, as far as is consistent with the policies set out in the framework.

Housing: Construction

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2012, Official Report, column 304W, on housing: construction, what questions Glenigan ask of developers (a) to ascertain the commercial unviability of sites and (b) in respect of the effect on viability of affordable housing requirements.

Mark Prisk: Glenigan researchers contact developers about individual sites with planning permission and ask ‘is the site going ahead', if the response is ‘no' they are asked 'why' and the individual response is then recorded in free text.

Housing: Construction

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2012, Official Report, column 304W, on housing: construction, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Glenigan database.

Nicholas Boles: The Glenigan database is not publicly available and therefore a copy cannot be placed in the Library of the House. Glenigan—http://www.glenigan.com/ —is a private company which supplies its customers with information on the status of planning applications and tracks UK construction developments through to completion. This information is supplied purely for internal business use by its clients. Under its licence agreement with the Homes and Communities Agency, Glenigan allows DCLG to publish information on the number of stalled residential sites at a national level.
	More detailed information is available commercially from Glenigan.

Local Government Finance

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the percentage change in formula grant in real terms was for each local authority between 1997-98 and 2009-10.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 18 October 2012
	Meaningful, like-for-like comparisons for individual local authorities over the period cannot be made, due to changes in the function, structure and funding of local government from 1997-98 to 2009-10.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of planning decisions made by each planning authority in England have been overturned on appeal in each of the last 10 years.

Nicholas Boles: The proportion of planning decisions overturned on appeal is not centrally available.
	The Planning Inspectorate publishes information on the number of appeals by local authority, including the proportion that have been allowed. This can be found at:
	http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planning/planninginspectorate/statistics

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Broadcasting

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what measures she is taking to promote the development and use of (a) international and (b) national digital television standards in the UK's digital industries.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 24 October 2012
	The Government continue to maintain direct links with the formal standards bodies that cover television standards, i.e. the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and we also maintain an ongoing engagement with the Digital Television Group (DTG), Intellect and UK broadcasters. This enables us to maintain our visibility of future television technology and standardisation developments and provides the assurance that European and international television standardisation efforts remain linked and relevant to the UK market.

Government Art Collection Advisory Committee

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on what date the most recent meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection took place.

Edward Vaizey: The most recent meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection took place on 12 July 2012.

Music: Tickets

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether she plans to review the regulation of the ticket resale market for music and other popular cultural events to ensure a supply of reasonably priced tickets to customers.

Hugh Robertson: The Government have no plans to regulate the ticketing market. We will, however, continue to monitor this area, and, if new evidence comes forward of severe market failures that need addressing, we will review this position.

Richard III

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans her Department has for the potential burial of the remains of King Richard III.

Helen Grant: My Department issued a licence to exhume human remains which could be those of Richard III. Remains have now been exhumed and archaeologists are currently carrying out tests to determine the identity of the remains. Should they be found to be those of Richard III, the current plan is for them to be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral.

Television: Sports

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the potential link between high profile sporting events being broadcast free-to-air and participation in amateur sports.

Edward Vaizey: In 2009, as part of the Department's review of free-to-air listed events, the independent panel addressed the impact of listing on participation, and the widespread assumption that the larger the audience that watched top-level sport, the greater the impact on participation and excellence at grassroots level. The panel commissioned two research projects—the British Market Research Bureau's ‘Free-to-air events—Understanding the Public's Views’ and Frontier Economics' ‘The Impact of Listed Events on the Viewing and Funding of Sports’. The findings from both, which can be found at the following link:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/6434.aspx
	could not establish any causality between participating in sport and viewing habits.

PRIME MINISTER

Leveson Inquiry

Chris Bryant: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2012, Official Report, column 449W, on the Leveson Inquiry and with reference to his letter of 18 October 2012 to the right hon. Member for Camberwell and Peckham, 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library all (a) texts, (b) emails and (c) details of any form of communication between himself and Rebekah Brooks since May 2010;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library all (a) texts, (b) emails and (c) other forms of communication between himself and Andy Coulson between 23 January 2011 to date;
	(3)  how many (a) texts, (b) emails and (c) other forms of communication between himself and (i) Rebekah Brooks, (ii) Andy Coulson, (iii) Rupert Murdoch and (iv) James Murdoch since May 2010 have not been provided to the Leveson Inquiry or put in the public domain;
	(4)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the criteria used to determine whether (a) texts, (b) emails and (c) other forms of communication between himself and (i) Rebekah Brooks, (ii) Andy Coulson and (iii) News International should be (A) provided to the Leveson Inquiry and (B) made public;
	(5)  if he will place in the Library an estimate of what the cost to the public purse has been of assessing whether (a) texts, (b) emails and (c) other forms of communication between himself and (i) Rebekah Brooks, (ii) Andy Coulson and (iii) News International since May 2010 should be provided to the Leveson Inquiry and made public.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 921, to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello).

TRANSPORT

A1

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of the A1 have no road markings; and what his Department's policy is on replacing worn or damaged stretches where road markings are absent.

Stephen Hammond: There are no sections of the A1 or A1(M) managed by the Highways Agency that have no road markings.
	Where defects to road markings require prompt attention because they represent an immediate or imminent hazard, Highways Agency service providers are required to repair them within defined time scales to ensure safety of the road users.
	Where there is a case for a more comprehensive renewal of road markings, service providers will develop planned maintenance schemes for consideration by the Highways Agency. The value for money of these schemes will be assessed alongside others to ensure the best use of available funds.

Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to increase the number of multi-purpose driving test centres;
	(2)  what target he has set for the number of operational multi-purpose driving test centres; and how many are currently in operation.

Stephen Hammond: The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) currently has 51 test centres delivering car driving tests and module 1 motorcycling tests.
	In June 2010, Ministers announced a review into the delivery of the practical motorcycling test. The review is still under way and, pending publication of its recommendations, the DSA will not invest additional sums in multi-purpose test centres.
	However, as an interim measure, additional low-cost “casual hire” sites are being considered. Negotiations are under way for a site in Stoke-on-Trent and another site is being assessed for suitability on Stornaway. Other casual hire sites will be considered as they become available.

Driving: Licensing

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the waiting time is for driving licences being reissued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency medical advisory panel.

Stephen Hammond: The time taken for a driving licence to be issued where medical investigations are necessary will vary depending on the complexity of the case. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency categorises cases as simple and complex. Those where further medical information is required from the licence holder or the medical professional managing their treatment are considered complex.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's target is to complete 90% of simple cases within 15 working days and 88% of complex cases within 90 days. So far this year the agency has achieved an average performance level of 89% for simple cases and 87% for complex cases.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when (a) he and (b) his predecessor last met with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss plans for HS2.

Simon Burns: There have been no formal meetings between either the Secretary of State for Transport or his predecessor specifically to discuss plans for HS2. However, officials from both Departments meet regularly to discuss HS2.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether vehicle testing is regarded as a sovereign matter by the European Union.

Stephen Hammond: The European Commission in proposing a regulation about roadworthiness tests states that ‘Roadworthiness is a sovereign activity’. The Commission proposes a regulation because it considers the implementation by member states of technical requirements set at an EU level has led to a high diversity in requirements with negative impacts both on road safety and the internal market.
	The HoC Scrutiny Committee has referred the proposed legislation for a debate on a Reasoned Opinion which questions the justification by the EC for this approach in respect of competence to act at a supranational level.
	The Department intends to challenge strongly any provisions that imply costs for Government, the public or industry.

Motorcycles

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the possible effect on jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises which produce motorcycle parts and accessories due to proposals at EU level for legislation on anti-tampering for motorcycles.

Stephen Hammond: There are no plans to make a separate assessment of the possible effect on jobs. However, an impact assessment of the EU regulation, including anti-tampering measures, was carried out to support negotiations on the new regulation, and this included a small firms impact test.
	The impact assessment is available on the DFT website and can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2011-26/

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when he plans to publish the review of the Driving Standards Agency's implementation and delivery of the module 1 part of the motorcycle test;
	(2)  how many participants have taken part in his trial of a unified motorcycle test;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of his trial of a unified motorcycle test; and when he expects the results of that trial to be published.

Stephen Hammond: The technical aspects of module 1 were revised in May 2011, as part of interim changes to the motorcycle test:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/stories/dsa-news-20110328
	The number of participants that have been involved in the research trials, to date, is 250; this includes test ready learner riders, trainers and DSA driving examiners.
	An assessment of the trials will be made once the research has concluded. The results of the research will be published alongside the public consultation, on any proposed changes to the motorcycle test, which is expected to commence in the spring.

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many individuals have completed two or more compulsory bike tests, since the introduction of the new testing procedures.

Stephen Hammond: As at 22 October 2012, there have been 68,187 individuals that have completed two or more practical motorcycling tests since the introduction of the two-part test on 27 April 2009. These include those who have taken either:
	more than one module 1 test but no module 2 test; or
	module 1 and module 2 tests with more than one attempt at either or both modules.
	In addition, 70,478 individuals have taken a single module 1 and single module 2 test.

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the establishment of the module 1 motorcycle test, what estimate he has made of the (a) rate of accidents during the new test and (b) effect of weather conditions on the rate of accidents.

Stephen Hammond: Since the introduction of the 2-part practical motorcycling test on 27 April 2009, there have been:
	776 incidents on module 1 tests, and
	223 incidents on module 2 tests.
	The rate of incidents has been monitored closely since the test was introduced. The Driving Standards Agency conducted around 62,500 tests in the last 12 months to August 2012. There were 2.7 incidents per 1,000 tests for that period—which is a reduction from 3.3 incidents over the previous 12 month period.
	The incident rate is currently 1.3 incidents per 1,000 tests. The majority (83%) of these were minor in nature and only 26 were serious reportable incidents. Serious incidents are defined as those where the candidate received medical attention and was taken straight to hospital from the test site.
	No analysis has been carried out into the effect of weather conditions on incidents on test.

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has undertaken a comparative assessment of the pass rate of motorcycle tests in the UK with that of other EU countries.

Stephen Hammond: CIECA, the international commission for driver testing authorities compiles data about driving and riding test rates. The comparative pass rates of those member states who declared their category A1, A2 and A test pass rates (measured in % passed) in 2011 were:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 CIECA country A1 A2 A 
			 Bulgaria 86.8 — 92.4 
			 Denmark — — 89.9 
			 Estonia 72.9 76 83.5 
			 Great Britain 60 64 71 
			 Latvia 51.1 70.6 70.6 
			 Lithuania 57.5 72.35 72.82 
			 Netherlands — — 73.8

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorcycle driving instructors and trainers he estimates were operating in (a) August 2008 and (b) August 2012.

Stephen Hammond: No data are available for the number of motorcycle instructors in 2008. In October 2009, 2,675 certificates were held by motorcycling instructors delivering compulsory basic training and direct access training.
	Since April 2011, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has published official statistics on the Department for Transport (DFT) website about the number of certificates issued to motorcycling instructors delivering compulsory basic training and direct access training. These figures are produced quarterly and in June 2012 there were 2,849 certificates held.
	Other types of motorcycling instruction such as pre-test training are unregulated and no data is held about the number of instructors operating in those sectors.

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to seek a derogation from the EU requirement of a 50 kilometre an hour speed for certain elements of the module 1 motorcycle test to allow the merger of that module with module 2 of the motorcycle test.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport review into the delivery of the practical motorcycling test is still ongoing. One of a range of options under consideration is for the higher speed manoeuvres to be carried out on road at or around the urban speed limit of 30 mph. Once the review is complete we will be in a position to determine whether a derogation is necessary.

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what comparative estimate he has made of the rate of accidents at permanent motorcycle test centres and that at casual sites.

Stephen Hammond: The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) monitors the rate of incidents during all testing and training activity at all DSA and trainer owned locations—including on road training and testing.
	The number of incidents, at both permanent and casual testing sites, since the two-part practical motorcycling test was introduced, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Test Permanent site Casual site 
			 Module 1 (off road) 614 162 
			 Module 2 (on road) 180 43 
		
	
	All serious incidents are followed up and investigated where appropriate to determine the cause and to provide advice and support to those involved.

Network Rail

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when a Minister last reviewed Network Rail's derivative losses;
	(2)  what limits he plans to place on Network Rail's derivative dealings.

Simon Burns: Network Rail is a private company operating as a commercial business. Network Rail is directly responsible to its members and is regulated by the independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). The issue of Network Rail's derivatives is therefore a matter for the company and the ORR.

Piracy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice his Department has issued to UK merchant shipping on anti-piracy measures.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport published ‘Interim Guidance to UK Flagged Shipping on the Use of Armed Guards to Defend against the Threat of Piracy in Exceptional Circumstances’ on 6 December 2011 with a subsequent revision published in June 2012 (version 1.1). The guidance was produced in consultation with key industry stakeholders including the Chamber of Shipping and other Government Departments. It contains specific reference to the industry developed ‘Best Management Practices for Protection against Somalia Based Piracy’ (BMP).
	The Department recommends that the armed guards guidance is read alongside the DFT ‘Guidance to UK Flagged Shipping on Measures to Counter Piracy, Armed Robbery and other Acts of Violence against Merchant Shipping’ which was published in November 2011.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what investment the Highways Agency has made in roads (a) in Essex, (b) in the Braintree district, (c) in the Malden district, (d) in Colchester borough, (e) along the A12 and (f) along the A120 in each of the last five years; and what investment plans are in place over each of the next five years.

Stephen Hammond: A breakdown of annual spend by county, local authority area or by route is not available. The available information for capital(1) expenditure along the A12(2) and A120(3) for the most recent five year period is shown in the following table. The figures in this table exclude some capital expenditure on the A12 and A120 that was funded from area wide or non route specific budgets. Route specific information for this type of expenditure is not available.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Route 2008-09 2009-10(4) 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13(5) 
			 A12 427,064 16,358,345 5,096,070 6,611,071 4,107,831 
			 A12 VMS and CCTV(6) 158,094 962,458 242,467 0 0 
			       
			 A120 391,236 324,769 650,245 723,526 1,063,037 
			 A120 VMS and CCTV(6) 49,614 569,218 66,187 0 44,000 
			 (1) Capital expenditure is investment in items such as new roads, resurfacing, replacement of lighting columns, central reserve safety barrier, etc as opposed to Resource expenditure which is generally routine maintenance such as minor repairs, grass cutting, light bulbs etc. Information on annual resource expenditure by county, local authority area or specific route is not available. (2) Includes the sections of the A12 between the M25 and Ipswich and between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. (3 )Includes the sections of the A120 between the M11 and the A12 at Marks Tey and between A12 Junction 29 (Colchester) and Harwich. (4) From 2009-10 onwards all schemes valued over £100,000 are treated as capital expenditure. (5) Forecast expenditure for 2012-13 as at 3 October 2012. (6) Estimated capital expenditure for Variable Message Signs (VMS) and CCTV cameras. Actual expenditure by route is not available. 
		
	
	Future spend is dependent on annual funding allocations by the Department for Transport. Funding allocations for 2013-14 will be available in January 2013 when budgets for the coming year have been finalised.
	Investment for future major schemes is set through the spending review. There are currently no plans for major schemes on the A12 and A120 in Essex in the current review period to 2014-15.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the Highways Agency monitors contracts requiring the repair or replacement of road markings at times when a section of road is not being renewed.

Stephen Hammond: Highways Agency maintenance contracts require service providers to maintain the paved carriageway, including road markings and studs, to defined standards. These standards include performance requirements for the repair of serious defects within defined timescales.
	Service providers are subject to regular audit and performance monitoring by the Highways Agency to ensure contractual requirements are being met.

Roads: Safety

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what safety rating system for the UK roads network is used by his Department.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not have a safety rating system for the UK roads network but takes note of the output from the work done by the Road Safety Foundation and European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) to assess the risks associated with the UK roads network.

Thameslink Railway Line

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether his officials have provided him in the last six months with an estimate of the date the new Thameslink rolling stock will be delivered; and what that date is;
	(2)  whether his officials have provided him in the last six months with an estimate of the date the new Thameslink rolling stock will be delivered; and whether that date differs from that previously announced by his Department.

Simon Burns: We expect the first trains to be delivered for testing on the network in summer 2015 and deployment of the full fleet to be completed towards the end of 2018.

Thameslink Railway Line

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his officials have provided advice to him on what steps the Government would need to take to secure the provision of new rolling stock for Thameslink if it is not possible to reach financial close with Siemens.

Simon Burns: Department officials are working with Siemens to secure financial close early in the new year for the new trains for Thameslink. I am aware of the consequences of failing to conclude the procurement and as you would expect, my Department is closely monitoring progress, including assessing options were it not possible to secure financial close.

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which shipping companies qualified for the tonnage tax scheme in each year since 2000-01.

Stephen Hammond: The question of whether or not a particular company or group qualifies for inclusion in the tonnage tax is, in the first instance, a matter for HM Revenue and Customs.
	HM Revenue and Customs administer tonnage tax and are prevented from disclosing the names of companies and groups within it, in accordance with their duty of confidentiality set out in the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

Tonnage Tax

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) jobs and growth in the shipping industry and (b) the operation of the tonnage tax scheme of the European Commission's Limassol Declaration of 7 October 2012.

Stephen Hammond: This Department welcomes the emphasis in the Declaration upon the importance of facilitating growth and hence employment in the maritime sector. No assessment has been made of the effect of the Declaration. However, growth and jobs in the maritime sector are of significant importance to the UK economy and tonnage tax continues to help maintain the competitiveness of the UK shipping industry.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Airguns

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were investigated by the police for the illegal use of airguns in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: This information is not collected centrally.
	The Home Office collects data from police forces on the number of offences committed that involve air weapons, but not the number of people who are investigated by the police.

Burglary: Self-defence

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will review the law on self-defence in the event of a burglary; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: As my hon. Friend will be aware, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State recently outlined plans to give householders greater legal protection to protect themselves from burglars. These proposals will mean that if a householder fears for their safety when confronted by a burglar and acts in the heat of the moment to protect themselves or their family or guests using force that was reasonable in the circumstances as they genuinely believed them to be, they will not be guilty of an offence if it is found in the cold light of day that their actions were disproportionate. They will only be guilty if the level of force used was grossly disproportionate. This should give householders greater confidence that the law is on their side. Procedures to legislate will be undertaken as soon as parliamentary time allows.

College of Policing

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to appoint an interim chair of the College of Policing.

Damian Green: We will update Parliament shortly.

College of Policing

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date she expects the College of Policing to become operational.

Damian Green: The College of Policing will be operational in December this year.

Crime

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many incidents of rape were reported in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many incidents of robbery were reported in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many incidents of theft from a vehicle were reported in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking the following:
	how many incidents of robbery were reported in each of the last five years. (124088)
	how many incidents of rape were reported in each of the last five years.(124087)
	how many incidents of theft from a vehicle were reported in each of the last five years. (124089)
	The table shows the number of incidents recorded by the police in England and Wales for each of the offence types in question, from 2007/08 to 2011/12. These data are published each quarter, with the latest figures available from Table A4 within 'Crime Statistics: Appendix tables - Crime in England and Wales, year ending June 2012'. The table includes the latest period for completeness, and gives the codes of the individual offences that make up each group, as used in Table A4.
	The data provided in the table cover England and Wales only. Crime figures for Scotland are published at:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice
	and data for Northern Ireland are published at:
	http://www.psni.police.uk/index/updates/updates_statistics/update_crime_statistics.htm
	
		
			 Police recorded crime for selected offences, 2007-08 to 2011-12, England and Wales 
			 Offence 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 12 months to June 2012 
			 GBH(1) — 40,206 39,501 34,789 32,355 23,691 
			 ABH(2) — 378,176 359,483 331,448 303,909 223,867 
			 Rape(3,4) 12,673 13,096 15,074 15,892 16,043 15,669 
			 Robbery(5) 84,773 80,130 75,105 76,189 74,689 71,444 
			 Theft from a Vehicle(6) 432,412 396,976 339,170 313,467 300,378 293,666 
			 (1) Current GBH classifications were introduced from 1 April 2008 and replaced an earlier classification. This group of offences includes offences 5A 8F, 8H. It therefore includes endangering life and racially or religiously aggravated inflicting GBH as well as GBH with intent, though GBH with intent is the major part of this category. (2) This group covers offences 8G and 8J. Current ABH classifications were introduced from 1 April 2008 and replaced an earlier classification. This group of offences includes racially or religiously aggravated inflicting ABH. (3) This group covers offences 19A-19H, covering rapes of males and females of all ages. (4) Prior to 2009-10, a small number of offences continued to be recorded relating to offences repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. While these may have been legitimately recorded for offences committed prior to May 2004 it is also possible that some may have been recorded in these old categories in error, so any changes based on small numbers should be interpreted with caution. (5) This group includes offences 34A and 34B, covering robberies of business and personal property. (6) This offence has a code of 45.

Domestic Violence

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of incidents of domestic violence (a) committed and (b) reported to the police in each region in the last 12 months.

Jeremy Browne: Estimates of the number of domestic violence crimes committed against adults, as reported to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (formerly the British Crime Survey), cannot be broken down by region.
	The number of domestic violence incidents reported to the police in 2011-12, by police force area and region, is shown in the table. These figures are provisional and have not been verified by forces.
	
		
			 Number of domestic violence incidents, by police force area and region, 2011-12(1) 
			 2011-12 Number 
			 Cleveland 14,883 
			 Durham 13,330 
			 North Yorkshire 7,336 
			 North East Region 35,549 
			   
			 Cheshire 4,186 
			 Cumbria 6,422 
			 Greater Manchester 47,496 
			 Lancashire 29,465 
			 Merseyside 32,511 
			 North West Region 120,080 
			   
			 Humberside 17,014 
			 Northumbria 27,406 
			 South Yorkshire 24,079 
			 West Yorkshire 36,725 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Region 105,224 
			   
			 Derbyshire 14,797 
			 Leicestershire 17,172 
			 Lincolnshire 8,762 
			 North Wales 12,901 
			 Nottinghamshire 5,532 
			 East Midlands Region 59,164 
			   
			 Staffordshire 16,457 
			 Warwickshire 7,805 
			 West Mercia 16,523 
			 West Midlands 30,137 
			 West Midlands Region 70,922 
			   
			 Bedfordshire 8,250 
			 Cambridgeshire 11,249 
			 Essex 26,876 
			 Hertfordshire 12,644 
		
	
	
		
			 Norfolk 9,878 
			 Suffolk 7,471 
			 East of England Region 76,368 
			   
			 London, City of 90 
			 Metropolitan Police 118,079 
			 London Region 118,169 
			   
			 Hampshire 24,206 
			 Kent 22,509 
			 Surrey 11,755 
			 Sussex 16,732 
			 Thames Valley 32,715 
			 South East Region 107,917 
			   
			 Avon and Somerset 15,356 
			 Devon and Cornwall 25,521 
			 Dorset 7,425 
			 Gloucestershire (2)— 
			 Wiltshire 4,413 
			 South West Region 52,715 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys 2,325 
			 Gwent 8,948 
			 Northamptonshire 11,898 
			 South Wales 27,656 
			 Wales 50,827 
			   
			 England and Wales total 796,935 
			 (1) Figures are provisional and have not been verified by forces. (2) Data not available. Force was not able to supply data at the time of collection.

Domestic Violence: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to reduce the incidence of domestic abuse in Peterborough constituency; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Government's Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan sets out our steps to tackle all forms of violence against women. This includes ring-fencing funding of nearly £40 million until 2015 towards specialist domestic and sexual violence services. As part of this, we are contributing £20,000 a year towards an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser in Peterborough.

Foreign Workers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many companies applying for the right to sponsor overseas employees have had their application fee reimbursed after refusal.

Mark Harper: No sponsor has had their application fee reimbursed after refusal.
	Sponsors pay a fee for the consideration of their licensing application.
	If the UK Border Agency refuses, the application the fee is not refunded. Where there is evidence to show that the UK Border Agency made an error in considering the application, the prospective sponsor submits a new application and the UK Border Agency will process the new application without a fee.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of other EU countries her Department has (a) told to leave the UK and have left voluntarily and (b) removed from the UK on the grounds that they no longer fulfil the criteria for the right to residence under Chapter III of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the right of citizens of the EU and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of EU member states in each year since 2007.

Mark Harper: The information requested is not held centrally.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirements there are for nationals of other EU countries and their associated family members who have moved to the UK under European Directive 2004/38/EC to register their presence in the UK; what evidence such people must present to satisfy the criteria for the right to reside in the UK; what sanctions there are for non-compliance with such registration requirements; and what follow-up checks are carried out to ensure such people continue to satisfy the criteria for the right to reside in the UK.

Mark Harper: Under Directive 2004/38/EC EEA nationals and their family members who wish to reside in the UK for longer than three months must be exercising 'treaty rights' as a worker, or self-employed person, a self-sufficient person or a student.
	There is no mandatory requirement to register though many apply for confirmation of their right to reside as it is the only means to evidence this right. As registration is not mandatory there is no sanctions regime for non-compliance.
	The UK Border Agency has strict requirements in place to ensure that EEA nationals and their family members prove that they are exercising a treaty right. For example, employed workers must provide evidence from their employer and payslips or bank statements as evidence of income.
	EEA nationals and their family members' right to reside in the UK is conditional upon them continuing to meet the requirements of the directive. The UK Border Agency will undertake checks to ensure the requirements remain satisfied with each application for residence documentation.

National Policing Improvement Agency

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed by the National Policing Improvement Agency in work streams transferred to the Home Office on 1 October 2012 on (a) 1 January 2011, (b) 1 January 2012 and (c) 30 September 2012.

Damian Green: Of the functions that transferred to the Home Office on 1 October 2012:
	(a) On 1 January 2011 there were 717 staff involved in those functions.
	(b) On 1 January 2012 there were 665 involved in those functions.
	(c) On 30 September 2012, 623 staff transferred from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) to the Home Office under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE).

National Policing Improvement Agency

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed by her Department to undertake work transferred to her Department from the National Policing Improvement Agency on 1 October 2012.

Damian Green: Over 600 staff transferred from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) to the Home Office on 1 October 2012. The transfer took place under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.
	The transfer was led jointly by the Home Office and the NPIA. The project team in the Home Office is staffed by four permanent Home Office civil servants who were dedicated to this transfer work. The NPIA's project team is made up of three dedicated NPIA staff. Both teams will be closed at the end of October 2012, and the staff will be reallocated.
	These small teams were supported in elements of the project by other Home Office and NPIA staff (for example HR professionals).

Police and Crime Commissioners

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the likely level of turnout for the election on 15 November 2012 for police and crime commissioners.

Damian Green: The Government will not be making an estimate of the likely level of turnout for the elections.
	However, every household will receive information about the elections from the Electoral Commission, and candidates will of course circulate information themselves. The Home Office has also launched an advertising campaign, including TV and radio, which we estimate will reach 85% of voters across the 41 forces to explain the reforms and encourage participation in the elections.
	The Government want and will encourage everyone to have their say, and are confident that, come 15 November, the public will not only be aware of the elections, but also have the information they need to make informed choices.

Police and Crime Commissioners

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost of the advertising campaign for Police and Crime Commissioners was for (a) television, (b) radio, (c) print media, (d) online and (e) other media.

Damian Green: The Police and Crime Commissioner campaign runs until 24 October and while it is still live the costs may be subject to change. On this basis we are unable to provide final total costs for advertising media until the campaign has finished.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2012, Official Report, columns 263-64W, on police and crime commissioners, what level of turnout in the police and crime commissioner elections she would view as acceptable.

Damian Green: The Government will not be making an estimate of the level of turnout for the elections.
	The Government want and will encourage everyone to have their say, and is confident that, come 15 November, the public will not only be aware of the elections, but also have the information they need to make informed choices.

Police: Demonstrations

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to require the police to consult with elected representatives of local communities on the route of marches and location of rallies of organisations promoting race hate.

Damian Green: The policing of marches and demonstrations is an operational matter for chief officers. The Association of Chief Police Officers' guidance "Manual of Guidance on Keeping the Peace" (2010) makes clear that police forces should engage with all key stakeholders and affected communities to build trust and confidence in the policing plan.

Police: Lambeth

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the number of (a) Metropolitan police officers and (b) police community support officers serving on Safer Neighbourhoods teams in Lambeth was in May (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002, (iv) 2003, (v) 2004, (vi) 2005, (vii) 2006, (viii) 2007, (ix) 2008, (x) 2009, (xi) 2010, (xii) 2011 and (xiii) 2012;
	(2)  how many vacancies existed for Safer Neighbourhood teams in Lambeth in May (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003, (e) 2004, (f) 2005, (g) 2006, (h) 2007, (i) 2008, (j) 2009, (k) 2010, (l) 2011 and (m) 2012.

Damian Green: The requested information is not collected by the Home Office.

Prisons: Drugs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were referred to treatment for using MCAT in the last year for which figures are available.

Jeremy Browne: holding answer 18 October 2012
	Information is not collected centrally about the number of users of the drug MCAT (mephedrone) within the criminal justice system. The most recently published data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System show that in 2010-11, 461 adults and 411 young people identified MCAT as their principal drug but the data do not record whether a person was within the criminal justice system at the time of treatment.

Treaties: European Union

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of whether, in the case of the opt-out under article 10(4) of the Protocol to the Treaty on the Funding of the European Union is exercised, any measures that are opted back into would be subject to the ratification processes laid out in the European Union Act 2011 ex nova.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 24 October 2012
	If the UK opts out en masse pursuant to Article 10(4) of Protocol No 36 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the ratification processes set out in the European Union Act 2011 will not be applicable to any measure that the UK may decide to opt back in to. This is because the European Union Act 2011 sets out restrictions relating to very specific areas and the measures on the 2014 opt-out list do not fall within its scope. For example, the opt-out decision clearly flows from existing Treaty obligations so any decision to opt back in to any measures would not require a Treaty change.

TREASURY

Aerospace Industry: Investment

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what fiscal steps his Department is taking to assist the UK aerospace industry to invest in emerging technologies;
	(2)  what fiscal steps his Department is taking to encourage long-term investment in the UK aerospace industry.

Danny Alexander: The Government has taken fiscal measures to support the UK's position as a global leader in aerospace. Budget 2012 announced £60 million for the creation of a UK centre for aerodynamics to support research and innovation in aerospace technology. At the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2012, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills announced details of how that funding will be used, alongside £120 million of new investment from government and industry in aerospace research and technology.
	The industry is also able to bid for support from wider funds such as the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain initiative and the Regional Growth Fund. In addition, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centre, bringing together seven institutions of excellence to better support UK manufacturing and assist UK businesses to innovate and bring new cutting edge commercial products to market, is expected to benefit companies in the aerospace sector.
	More generally, the aerospace sector will benefit from the Government's policies to create the most competitive tax system in the G20 and a more educated work force that is the most flexible in Europe.

Broadband

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any Barnett consequentials will arise from the sale of the 4G spectrum licence.

Danny Alexander: The Barnett formula applies to public spending allocation, not to general Government receipts. Therefore no Barnett consequentials will arise from the sale of the 4G spectrum licence.

Arch Cru Investment Management

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent assessment is of the adequacy of the compensation offered to CF Arch Cru investors; and what assessment he has made of (a) the role played by (i) Capita, (ii) HSBC and (iii) BNY Mellon in the operation of CF Arch Cru funds and (b) the use of the Channel Islands Stock Exchange for the listing of open-ended investment companies.

Sajid Javid: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is responsible for the regulation of financial services firms and operates independently from Government under the powers given to it in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. HM Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, but does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own.
	The FSA has been investigating the issues surrounding the suspension and winding-up of the Arch Cru funds and on 21 June 2011 announced a £54 million package for investors. The Government is not able to comment on the outcome of the FSA's investigation. As the independent regulator, it is in the FSA's remit to provide investors with a fair and reasonable payment scheme. Considering factors such as the number of investors, the complexity of the matter, the number of parties involved and the difficulties consumers may otherwise face, the FSA believe this payment scheme to be the best outcome for investors.

Employee Ownership Scheme

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer during the financial year 2017-18 of the employee ownership scheme announced on 8 October 2012; what estimate he has made of the cumulative cost of the scheme by April 2018; and what estimate he has made of (a) the likely sums foregone in capital gains tax revenue and (b) the likely other costs of the scheme to the public purse in each case.

David Gauke: The Government expect that the scheme could cost up to approximately £100 million in 2017-18 in forgone capital gains tax receipts due to employees taking up the new employee owner status.
	This initial estimate will be refined following the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consultation on the implementation of the new employee owner status during which the Government will engage with employers and employees to explore the likely impacts and take-up of the status in more detail. This consultation opened on 18 October and closes on 8 November. An annual breakdown of the estimated Exchequer cost of the policy will then be published at the autumn statement on 5 December 2012.

Infrastructure

Esther McVey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to monitor and ensure the implementation of the National Infrastructure Project after 2015;
	(2)  what plans he has for reinvestment of the infrastructure efficiency saving;
	(3)  what advice his Department has issued to local authorities on funding of investment in local infrastructure;
	(4)  what advice his Department provides to public bodies on sources of finance for infrastructure projects.

Danny Alexander: The National Infrastructure Plan sets out a pipeline of planned investment in UK infrastructure, including over 500 projects and the programmes, worth over £250 billion to 2015 and beyond. The infrastructure investment pipeline data will be refreshed annually. In order to deliver the most significant infrastructure projects on time and as efficiently as possible, I chair a Cabinet Sub-Committee on infrastructure to ensure that all Departments play their part in tackling delays and addressing key issues. An update on progress was published alongside this year's Budget and the Treasury will be publishing a further progress update around the time of the autumn statement.
	The Government are working with industry to put in place mechanisms through which real reductions in the costs of delivering infrastructure can be achieved and sustained—to enable taxpayers and utility bill payers to get more for less. Efficiency savings have been planned for in Government Departments' budgets, and further savings made beyond this are generally reallocated with Departments.
	Ultimately, local authorities are autonomous bodies that make their own investment decisions. However, the Government is committed to supporting private sector investment in local infrastructure and wider economic development. For instance, the Growing Places Fund will provide £730 million to Local Enterprise Partnerships and £150 million has been allocated to support three Tax Increment Financing Type 2 projects. The Government has provided stronger incentives for infrastructure investment though the ‘City Deals' process and through the introduction of 24 new Enterprise Zones across the country. Furthermore, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allows local authorities to charge on new developments in their area to help fund infrastructure.
	Infrastructure UK, a unit within HM Treasury, provides finance and commercial expertise to the wider Treasury and other public organisations, in support of the delivery of major infrastructure projects where there is capital investment from the public sector. Local Partnerships, a joint venture between the Local Government Association and HM Treasury, provides commercial expertise and for local public bodies, including local authorities.

Infrastructure

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the likely total cost will be of all planned Government-funded infrastructure projects in the (a) London area and (b) rest of the UK in the next six years.

Danny Alexander: In November 2011 the Government published a pipeline of over 500 infrastructure projects as part of the National Infrastructure Plan. This pipeline is estimated to be worth over £250 billion to 2015 and beyond, and almost 20% of the projects contained within it are expected to be wholly publically funded. These figures are available via the HM Treasury website, and will be updated around the time of the autumn statement in December.

National Loan Guarantee Scheme: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many applications the Scottish Government has made under the UK Guarantees Scheme for loans, guarantees, repairs, operation costs or any other kind of financial assistance in relation to capital or public investment projects in the current financial year;
	(2)  what specific schemes under the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 will apply to Scotland; and what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on funding such schemes.

Danny Alexander: The UK Guarantee Scheme uses the strength of the UK balance sheet to help secure the required finance for crucial infrastructure projects across the UK, including eligible projects in Scotland.
	Any projects which are listed in the National Infrastructure Plan 2011 are eligible to apply against the published criteria, including those projects which are based in Scotland.
	Private sector project sponsors can apply to the UK Guarantee Scheme directly. In the case of public sector infrastructure projects, the project sponsor should initially apply to the sponsor authority. Officials are working closely with the Scottish Government to identify those public sector projects that could be eligible to apply for the UK Guarantee Scheme.

NHS: Finance

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there are any Barnett consequentials to Northern Ireland arising from the announcement of £140 million of additional funding for NHS training and technology provision.

Danny Alexander: This funding will come from within the existing Department of Health budget. There will therefore be no additional Barnett consequentials to Northern Ireland arising from the announcement.

Pay

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2012, Official Report, column 1054W, on pay: public appointments, how many appointments to senior posts with a salary in excess of £142,000 were made in the two-year period to 29 May 2010.

Danny Alexander: Since May 2010, I have been asked to approve the remuneration packages of individuals earning more than £142,500 in areas under ministerial control.
	The Government do not centrally hold information on the number of such appointments with a salary in excess of £142,000 that were made in the two-year period to 29 May 2010.
	However, since May 2010, the Government have published details of the number of individuals earning over £150,000 in central Government—and these figures show that since May 2010, the number of these individuals has fallen by 36%. Further information is available at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/senior-civil-servants-high-earners-salaries

Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that those with pension plans taken out prior to 1990 with a guaranteed annuity provision which would mean that the recipients receive a better pension at no extra cost are aware of what they need to do to receive the additional benefit.

Sajid Javid: In March 2011 a Government working group was asked to identify and agree feasible options for a default 'open market option' to stop consumers from making an uninformed annuity purchase from an existing provider. As a result, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) announced on 5 March a new Code of Conduct for Retirement Choices, binding on all annuity providers who are members of the ABI. The code will come into effect on 1 March 2013.
	The Code of Conduct includes the requirement that providers must,
	“highlight any applicable guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) or other guarantee”,
	“both through the wake-up and follow-up packs, and when approached by a customer about their retirement options".
	The code requires that this is highlighted on the front page of any cover letter. In addition,
	“unless the customer has requested an alternative, an illustration must clearly set out at least any applicable GAR or other guarantee”.
	To ensure customers consider what type of annuity may be best suited to their needs, providers must
	“highlight the benefits of shopping around, and set out options including deferring retirement, commuting or amalgamating pension pots“
	and
	“explain the range of ways in which a customer can receive their retirement income, including the different annuity options and products available, particularly the possibility of medical conditions or lifestyle choices leading to a higher level of retirement income, and including joint and escalating annuities and ways to keep savings invested.”
	Further details can be found on the ABI's website:
	http://www.abi.org.uk/Information/Codes_and_Guidance_Notes/63419.docx
	In addition, the Money Advice Service and the Pensions Advisory Service offer free information and guidance on pensions and annuities.

Pensions: Scotland

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has imposed (a) non-financial constraints and (b) reporting requirements on the Scottish Government in respect of its ability to set pension terms for those public-sector workers whose pension is controlled by that Government.

Danny Alexander: Legislative competence for public service pensions policy is reserved to Westminster and the Public Service Pensions Bill is currently before Parliament. The Bill sets out the framework for the operation of public service pensions in the future. In order to reassure public servants as to the scale and nature of the changes to their pensions the Government has decided that there are some core elements of the reformed framework that must apply to all defined benefit public service pension schemes. These elements were recommended by Lord Hutton's Independent Public Service Pensions Commission which the Scottish Government accepted as a basis for negotiations with, public service stakeholders last year.
	Clause 13 of the Public Service Pensions Bill compels scheme managers or responsibly authorities to publish or provide to HM Treasury such scheme information as HM Treasury directions require.

Pensions: Scotland

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on its ability to set pension terms for those public sector workers whose pension is controlled by that Government;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library any correspondence between his Department and the Scottish Government on the ability of the Scottish Government to make any changes to public-sector pension schemes in Scotland that would differ from those in England and Wales.

Danny Alexander: HM Treasury has had regular discussions with the Scottish Government on public service pension schemes.
	As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to make correspondence with the Scottish Government public.

Public Expenditure

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures departmental underspends from (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2012-13 have been used to fund to date.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 18 October 2012
	Departmental underspends that are identified throughout the financial year can be reallocated to new areas of spending. Where re-prioritisation results in amendments to Departmental budgets, these are included in the respective Department's estimates for the year, as voted by Parliament and published at Supplementary Estimates.
	We have used underspends to fund high priority areas of expenditure in line with Government objectives. This includes the council tax freeze, the Growing Places Fund and the freeze in fuel duty, announced in June 2012.

Public Service Pensions Bill: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the implications of the Public Sector Pensions Bill for the Local Government Pension Scheme Scotland.

Danny Alexander: The Public Service Pensions Bill was introduced in Parliament on 13 September. HM Treasury has had regular discussions with the Scottish Government on public service pension matters.

Public Service Pensions Bill: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on a legislative consent motion for the Public Service Pensions Bill;
	(2)  whether the Public Service Pensions Bill will require a legislative consent motion in the Scottish Parliament.

Danny Alexander: The Public Service Pensions Bill contains provisions that trigger the Sewel convention in Scotland.
	The Government has sought “in principle” agreement from Scottish Ministers to seek a legislative consent motion for these provisions.

HM Revenue and Customs

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many additional jobs will be required by Tracing Unit Cumbernauld following the transfer of work from HM Revenue and Customs Shipley.

David Gauke: No additional posts are required at present.

HM Revenue and Customs

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what HM Revenue and Customs policy is on the redeployment of staff and the protection of staff with disabilities.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) seeks to redeploy staff wherever possible when current roles are coming to an end. It places emphasis on forward planning across lines of business so that alternative work can be considered in advance, facilitating bulk and individual moves of staff. A redeployment pool has been introduced to support staff who need to be redeployed, giving them priority for vacancies in HMRC and other Government Departments. Proposed moves take account of individual circumstances and allow as much personal choice as is reasonable. HMRC complies with the 2008 Cabinet Office/Council of Civil Service Unions protocols for handling surplus staff situations.
	Members of staff with disabilities are protected under the Equality Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. The Act places responsibility on the employer to make reasonable adjustments to enable staff to work as normally as possible. The responsibility applies from pre-recruitment to post-employment. Reasonable adjustments are formally agreed and staff are encouraged to complete a reasonable adjustment passport which is taken into consideration if the individual needs to move to a new role or workplace.

Scotland

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many inquiries his Department has received from Members of the Scottish Parliament on reserved constituency issues in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Danny Alexander: Treasury Ministers and officials receive correspondence from a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Tax Avoidance

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals whose gross annual income exceeds £100,000 he estimates were being paid via personal service companies in the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

David Gauke: HMRC data show the total annual income of individuals by income type, but not which type of business this income derives from. Further, there is no statutory definition of a personal service company which would enable HMRC to make this assessment. As such, it is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of the incomes of those being paid by PSCs.

Tax Incentives: Natural Gas

Dan Byles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the tax incentive for the production of shale gas which was announced in Birmingham on 8 October 2012 will apply (a) only to shale gas or (b) to other unconventional gas sources such as Coal Bed Methane.

Sajid Javid: The Government announced on 8 October that they will be engaging with industry on an appropriately targeted tax regime for shale gas. The Government would consider the implications of any future changes to the oil and gas fiscal regime in the round, in the context of their overall objective of maximising the economic recovery of UK hydrocarbons while ensuring a fair return for the Exchequer.

Taxation: Broadband

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the revenue likely to accrue to the Exchequer from the auction of the 4G mobile broadband spectrum; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 23 October 2012
	Ofcom is conducting the auction of spectrum to support the delivery of fourth generation mobile services independently of Government, and has set a reserve price of £1.4 billion. HM Treasury has not formally assessed likely revenues from this commercial auction.

Transport for London: Finance

Mark Reckless: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding his Department allocated to Transport for London in each year since 2000; and what funding has been allocated to Transport for London in each remaining year of the comprehensive spending review period.

Danny Alexander: The Department for Transport provides grant funding to the Greater London Authority (GLA) which is required to forward it to Transport for London (TFL). The Department provided £331 million of funding in 2000-01. Outturn funding from 2001-02 to 2005-06 is set out in pages 209 and 212 of the 2007 DFT Annual Report:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070603181925/http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/publications/apr/ar2007/appendixa_pubexpendcoretables
	Equivalent figures from 2006-07 to 20011-12 are set out in the Department's 2011-12 annual report:
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/dft-annual-resource-and-accounts/annual-report-and-accounts-1112.pdf
	There are a number of mostly smaller grants that the Department has paid TFL over the period in question which will not be included in the GLA Transport grant figures above because they were paid under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003.
	Alongside these smaller grants, £1.7 billion was paid to TFL in 2007-08 also under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. This was in relation to the collapse of the Metronet PPP contracts. This is explained on page 9 of the DFT's Resource Accounts for 2007-08:
	www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0708/hc06/0673/0673.pdf
	TFL's 2010 funding agreement was amended in a letter in 2011. A copy of this letter, setting out the expected funding for TFL for the remainder of the current spending review period is published on the TFL website:
	www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/gla-grant-re-profile-november-2011.pdf
	Ministers recently announced their intention to provide the Mayor and TFL with funding to enable them to hold fare increases for 2013 and 2014 to RPI plus 1%. A revised funding letter will be issued to TFL shortly setting out a new funding profile for the remainder of the spending review period.
	www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/investorrelations/1466.aspx

UK Research Partnership Investment Fund

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer from which source of funding the £200 million of additional support to the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, announced on 8 October 2012, will come.

Danny Alexander: Additional funding of £200 million will be provided to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to support this announcement.

Welfare Tax Credits

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the aggregate annual value was of tax credits paid in respect of dependants who reside outside the United Kingdom;
	(2)  how many dependants in respect of whom tax credits are paid reside outside the United Kingdom.

David Gauke: The main purpose of the child tax credit is to support families in the UK. Consequently, the child tax credit rules generally do not provide for it to be paid in respect of children who live abroad other than in limited circumstances (for example, in the case of the children of a UK Crown servant posted overseas and the Crown servant's accompanying partner) or to meet the UK's obligations under EU law, specifically EC Regulation 883/2004. This regulation protects the social security rights of nationals of all member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), including the UK, and Switzerland when they exercise their rights of free movement under EU law.
	Out of a total of approximately 5.2 million families currently receiving the child tax credit for almost 9.3 million children, at 30 September 2012 there were 3,447 ongoing awards of the child tax credit under EC Regulation 883/2004 in respect of 5,962 children living in another member state. This equates to around 0.06% of all child tax credit awards.
	Information about the value of child tax credit awarded by the UK under EC Regulation 883/2004 is available only at disproportionate costs. This is because under the priority rules in that regulation not all awards of UK family benefits are made at full UK rates.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Nationals Abroad

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens were deported to the UK from (a) all other EU member states, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) Poland and (e) the Netherlands in each year since 2004.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office captures only information that is brought to our attention on deportations (and extradition) cases. Our electronic records on this only go as far back as April 2008. There is no international obligation on behalf of foreign governments to inform our consular staff of an impending deportation; no obligation either within the EU. An exception occurs where there are formal arrangements for notification between the UK and most Commonwealth and some foreign countries. Otherwise, the information may come to staff by way of a request that the deportee be provided with a travel document, or through some other means.
	On this basis the figures we have between 2008-12 are:
	France: None throughout whole period.
	Germany: None throughout whole period.
	Poland: None throughout whole period.
	The Netherlands: 1 in 2011, none in other years.
	The EU:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2008 16 
			 2009 21 
			 2010 15 
			 2011 12 
			 2012 (January-September) 11

Business: Human Rights

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress he has made on the development of his business and human rights strategy.

David Lidington: The Government's draft strategy on business and human rights is currently going through a final round of consultation across Whitehall and we hope to publish it in the near future.

Business: Human Rights

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to open his proposed strategy on business and human rights to public consultation.

David Lidington: The Government's work is currently focused on finalising and launching the Government strategy on business and human rights which is, in effect, our interpretation in the UK context of the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights.
	We are actively giving consideration to how to monitor implementation—including through consultation with interested groups from outside of government—as we move forward and believe this an essential part of the process.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Spanish and (b) Gibraltarian counterpart on Gibraltar's sovereign territorial waters.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have regular contact with their Spanish counterparts on a wide range of issues, including Gibraltar-related issues. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), held a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Spain on 14 October in Brussels, where both Ministers were attending an EU meeting. We also keep in close touch with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, whom we inform and consult on relevant diplomatic discussions with Spain. The Foreign Secretary and I both met the Chief Minister in Birmingham on 7 and 8 October. We do not systematically disclose the content of meetings with Spanish and Gibraltarian Ministers, which are subject to diplomatic confidentiality.

Indonesia

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press the government of Indonesia to act on the recommendation to stop human rights violations by military and police officers and lift the climate of impunity in West Papua made by the UN Human Rights Council during its Universal Periodic Review.

Hugo Swire: We regularly discuss the situation in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua with the Indonesian Government. The UK takes seriously all reports of human rights violations in the provinces and we will continue to raise our concerns with the Indonesian authorities. Our ambassador discussed Papua with the co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs on 26 September. He also visited Papua in September this year and met with senior police and military officials where he emphasised the need to respect human rights and ensure full and transparent investigations into any violent incidents. It is UK policy to encourage effective responses and implementation of Universal Periodic Review recommendations including those on addressing impunity.

Latin America

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries in Latin America he has visited since taking office.

David Lidington: Since May 2010, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has visited Brazil and Panama. In addition to this, the former and current Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne) and my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), have visited the following countries: Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Costa Rica.

Single European Act

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether steps were taken by his Department to investigate allegations made in the book by Peter Schweizer entitled Friendly Spies, published in 1993, that a British diplomat briefed the French Directorate General for External Security on internal discussions within his Department on the UK's negotiating position prior to the signing of the Single European Act and the Brussels Summit of June 1987.

David Lidington: I will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested as the historical nature of the details required demands research into 27-year-old archives.

Stabilisation Unit

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2012, Official Report, columns 126-7WS, on building stability overseas, if he will publish the recommendations of the internal review of the tri-departmental Stabilisation Unit.

Mark Simmonds: A review of the tri-departmental Stabilisation Unit was commissioned by Ministry of Defence, Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in December 2011 and completed on 30 March 2012. The review found that the Stabilisation Unit had demonstrated clear successes in the rapid deployment of experienced people to fragile environments. It set out more clearly the vision for the Stabilisation Unit—a high-quality deployment capacity; plus an agile and focused role on planning, analysis and lessons which responds to the needs and prioritised tasking of parent departments. It recommended that we should strengthen the leadership of the unit, provide increased strategic direction to the unit by its three parent Departments, and drive value for money and efficiency changes.
	Good progress is being made in implementing these findings. We have increased the seniority of the head of the Stabilisation Unit and appointed a senior civil servant at director level to lead the unit through these changes. We have established a senior tri-departmental management board to provide increased strategic direction. Work is ongoing to implement structural and efficiency changes to the unit.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when and where the next Friends of Yemen meeting will take place.

Alistair Burt: It was agreed at the Friends of Yemen meeting on 27 September in New York that the next Friends of Yemen ministerial meeting would be held in March 2013. Exact date and venue are yet to be decided.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to restore consular services in Sana'a.

Alistair Burt: The British embassy in Sana'a continues to offer as full a consular service to British nationals in Yemen as it is possible to do in light of on-going security challenges within the country. Any decision to provide a fuller range of consular services will be judged against the security implications for staff serving at our embassy in Sana'a, and will be fully reflected in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice which, at the present time, advises against all travel to Yemen.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels: Timber

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what tonnage of biomass co-fired in coal fired electricity generation was (a) UK-sourced and (b) externally sourced wood in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

John Hayes: As required by the Renewables Obligation, generators have reported to Ofgem the following amounts of wood co-fired with coal in electricity generation for which Renewables Obligation Certificates were claimed:
	
		
			  Tonnes 
			 (a) UK sourced wood  
			 (i) 2010-11 98,785 
			 (ii) 2011-12 86,893 
			   
			 (b) Externally sourced wood  
			 (i) 2010-11 741,465 
			 (ii) 2011-12 999,987

Carbon Monoxide: Publicity

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans his Department (a) has and (b) had considered to require any suppliers to fund carbon monoxide awareness publicity and research through a levy from Ofgem.

John Hayes: Gas suppliers are obliged under the terms of their licence conditions to provide specific gas safety information to each domestic customer at least once a year. This information includes the safe use of gas appliances, the dangers of carbon monoxide and the benefits of fitting an audible carbon monoxide alarm and the undertaking of gas safety checks.
	Under the RIIO-GD1 2013-21 price control framework, gas distribution network (GDN) companies are expected to play a greater role in combating the risks associated with carbon monoxide poisoning. Having engaged with stakeholders, the GDNs have now submitted their RIIO-GD1 business plans to Ofgem, which include activities on carbon monoxide awareness. Further details on RIIO-GD1 price control review is available at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/NETWORKS/GASDISTR/RIIO-GD1/Pages/RIIO-GD1.aspx

Energy Distribution

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the (a) proportion and (b) quantity in MW of energy lost during the distribution phase of each source of energy in each of the last five years.

John Hayes: The following table shows the quantity and proportion of energy (in GWh) lost in the distribution of electricity and gas, for 2007 to 2011.
	
		
			  Electricity Gas 
			  Distribution losses (GWh) Electricity available for distribution (GWh) Distribution losses (% of electricity available for distribution) Distribution losses (leakage assessment) (GWh) Gas available at terminals (GWh) Distribution losses (% of gas available at terminals) 
			 2007 19,827 372,000 5.3 5,123 988,731 0.5 
			 2008 20,195 371,747 5.4 5,297 1,032,742 0.5 
			 2009 20,138 351,637 5.7 4,880 951,544 0.5 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 19,987 358,142 5.6 5,314 1,016,327 0.5 
			 2011 20,664 347,252 6.0 4,389 873,592 0.5 
			 Note: 1 GWh = 1,000 MWh Source: Electricity distribution losses are included in the losses figures in table DUKES 5.1, available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/source/electricity/electricity.aspx 
		
	
	A breakdown of losses for 2011 can be found in paragraph 5.14 of chapter 5 of the 2012 Digest of UK Energy Statistics (see link in table).
	Electricity available for distribution is electricity available less transmission losses.
	Electricity available can be found in table DUKES 5.5 (see link in table).
	Gas data from table DUKES 4.3, available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/source/gas/gas.aspx
	Gas leakage assessment is the National Grid's assessment of leakage through the local distribution system, based on the National Leakage Reduction Monitoring Model. Gas available at terminals is gross production plus imports less exports and producers’ own use.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much special advisers in his Department have claimed in expenses since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: According to the Department's finance system, special advisers in this Department have submitted claims totalling £479 in respect of travel and subsistence expenses on official business during the period 20 May 2010 to 30 September 2012.
	This figure covers, for example, taxi expenses for travelling to/from meetings. It does not include flights or hotel expenses for trips accompanying the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), e.g. to Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings, for which central records are not held. Those expenses were paid for directly by private office, expense claims were not submitted by SpAds.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on the (a) number of exhaust air source heat pumps that have been installed in the UK, (b) total level of public subsidy that has been given for exhaust air source heat pumps to date and (c) number of such installations likely to be removed due to excess cost to the householder.

Gregory Barker: The Department does not collect or hold information on the number of exhaust air heat pumps (EAHP) installed in the UK. EAHP are not subsidized through the renewable heat incentive, as it is not a renewable technology. One of the conditions of funding for affordable housing is to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH). Small-scale low-carbon technologies such as EAHP may be used to help meet parts of the code. However, there is now less reliance on such technology because of the more frequent use of the building fabric—the walls, roof and windows—to meet the code.
	Affordable housing delivery is administered by the Homes and Communities Agency on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government, neither of whom collect information on the number of EAHPs installed or those that benefit from Government funding.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish the data from the heat pump metering programme in the Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme; and what proportion of such heat pumps conform to renewable standards.

Gregory Barker: We will publish these data as soon as a suitable amount has been collected over a period of at least one year and they have been thoroughly audited and analysed. The earliest this is likely to be is summer 2013.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on the number of ground source heat pumps in the UK which receive the renewable heat incentive subsidy.

Gregory Barker: Ofgem is responsible for administering the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme on behalf of DECC and publishes data on the number of renewable heat installations which have been accredited into the scheme. These can be found at the following link:
	https://rhi.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ExternalReportDetail.aspx?RP=RHIPublicReport
	These data is updated on a daily basis. As of 23 October 2012, 19 ground source heat pumps had been accredited into the scheme.

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what onshore wind energy generation capacity (a) was installed, (b) has gained planning consent and (c) was seeking planning permission on 1 October 2012. [R]

John Hayes: The Renewable Energy Planning Database showed that in September 2012 5,183 MW of onshore wind were operational, 6,542 MW had gained planning consent and 6,678 MW were seeking planning permission.
	We do not anticipate that all consented projects will be built and not everything in the planning system deserves to be consented.

EDUCATION

e-mail

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he continues to use a private e-mail account for Government business; and whether civil servants in his Department have access to that account in order to allow them to fulfil requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 22 October 2012
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), uses equipment supplied by the Department and his own IT equipment as appropriate, depending on his location and circumstances. Where information is generated in the course of conducting Government business, it is stored on departmental systems.

e-mail: Freedom of Information

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to his answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 399W, on e-mail, what the cost was of the legal advice his Department has taken in respect of claims relating to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 request for e-mails about official business sent from non-departmental accounts from September 2011 to date.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 11 June 2012
	The Department has spent a total of £12,539.50 on legal advice and litigation services. This includes advice relating to the application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to non-departmental e-mail accounts and the handling of appeal EA/2012/0072.

Free Schools

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that the enrolling of students and hiring of staff to free schools is not dictated by religion.

Elizabeth Truss: All free schools are required to adopt fair and open admission arrangements that comply with, the School Admissions Code. A free school that is designated as a school with religious character is able to select up to 50% of their pupils with reference to faith, if it is oversubscribed.
	As part of their application to the Department to set up a free school, proposers are required to set out how they will ensure the highest quality of teaching and leadership in their schools. No school is allowed to proceed without robust plans for doing so. Faith designated free schools are able to prioritise recruitment of staff on the basis of faith to help support their vision and ethos.

Free Schools: Coventry

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many groups have applied to establish a free school in (a) Coventry local authority area and (b) Coventry North East constituency;
	(2)  how many groups who applied to establish a free school in (a) Coventry local authority area and (b) Coventry North East constituency have received advice and assistance from the New Schools Network.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answers 22 October 2012
	Since the launch of the Free Schools Programme in June 2010, one group has applied to establish a free school in the Coventry local authority area; this was not in the Coventry North East constituency.
	The Department does not hold information on the advice and assistance given to proposer groups by the New Schools Network.

Freedom of Information

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the total cost of (a) external legal advice, (b) advice from the Treasury Solicitor's Department and (b) civil service time incurred in dealing with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 request EA/2012/0072 at the moment that the Information Commissioner's Office issued its decision notice on the issue.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 17 October 2012
	The Department spent a total of £1,575 in April 2012 on external legal advice relating to compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA), which included advice in relation to this request. The Department had not incurred any costs relating to advice from the Treasury Solicitor's Department at the time of the Information Commissioner's Decision Notice. The costs of internal civil service time are not held in such a way that they can be separately identified.

Freedom of Information

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the total cost of (a) external legal advice, (b) advice from the Treasury Solicitor's Department and (b) civil service time incurred in dealing with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 request EA/2012/0072.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 17 October 2012
	The Department has spent a total of £4,875 on external legal advice from counsel in relation to this request (this figure includes £1,575 for advice relating to compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which was in part advice in relation to this request). The Department has paid £7,664.50 to the Treasury Solicitor's Department on dealing with appeal EA/2012/0072. This covers the legal advice and litigation services provided by TSol, including administrative charges and disbursements. The costs of internal civil service time are not held in such a way that they can be separately identified.

Higher Education

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which universities he has visited in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), visited the university of London in November 2011 and the university of Reading in June 2012.

UK Council for Child Internet Safety

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the dates of future meetings of the UK Council on Child Internet Safety.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 23 October 2012
	There is a meeting of the UKCCIS Executive Board scheduled for the 17 December 2012.

UK Council for Child Internet Safety

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the names of all the members and board members of the UK Council on Child Internet Safety.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 23 October 2012
	The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) is jointly chaired by myself, as Minister for Children and Families, and the Minister for Crime Prevention, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne). The Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), is also an executive board member.
	A current list of UK Council for Child Internet Safety executive board members is as follows:
	Joe Godwin—BBC
	Susie Hargreaves—Internet Watch Foundation
	Peter Davies—Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
	Scott Dodds—Microsoft
	John Carr—Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety
	Mike Short—O2
	Jo Twist—The Association for UK Interactive and Entertainment
	Sonia Livingstone—London School of Economics
	Elizabeth Kanter—RIM BlackBerry
	Philip Raines—Scottish Government
	Chris Woolard—Ofcom
	Eillis McDaniel—Northern Ireland Government
	Simon Milner—Facebook
	David Happy—Samsung
	Dido Harding—Tall Talk
	Will Gardner—Safer Internet Centre
	Andrew Uden—Tesco
	Vicki Shotbolt —Parentzone
	Sue Warrington—Chace Community School
	Peter Liver—NSPCC.
	A full list of all UKCCIS member organisations has been placed in the House Libraries. This list is correct as of 24 September 2012.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Trident

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) civil servants in his Department and (b) military personnel will be tasked to assist the Minister of State in the Cabinet Office, the right hon. Member for Yeovil, in his review of the options for replacing the UK nuclear deterrent.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply 
	as the Minister responsible for the Trident Alternatives Review.
	The review continues to be led by officials in the Cabinet Office, consulting relevant military and civilian experts in the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and other Departments on an as-required basis. The number of experts in each Department varies with the different stages of work and the type of expertise required.

Lord-Lieutenants

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the process is for the appointment of Lord-Lieutenants.

Chloe Smith: In England, the process of consultation is carried out by the Head of Honours and Appointments Secretariat in the Cabinet Office. S/He will write to a wide range of individuals with knowledge of the county, including local MPs, local government chief executives, representatives of the magistracy, the constabulary, religious groups, voluntary bodies and charities, academics, health sector, the territorial armed services, industry and agriculture, the High Sheriff, Lord-Lieutenancies of neighbouring counties and the Minister for the region. S/He will also spend two or three days in the county having face to face discussions with some individuals who may have particularly relevant knowledge. The results of the consultation are reported to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Prime Minister for consideration. The Prime Minister makes the eventual recommendation to the Queen.

Lord-Lieutenants

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what arrangements govern the standing for election to public office of Lord-Lieutenants' secretaries.

Chloe Smith: Lord-Lieutenancies do not currently have arrangements in place for governing the standing for election to public office of Lord-Lieutenants' clerks or secretaries. If the clerk is a local government official, then the individual would be subject to any local government rules that may apply.

HEALTH

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration his Department has given to the capacity of local authorities to scrutinise effectively the work of clinical commissioning groups.

Anna Soubry: Local authorities have the power to review any matter relating to the planning, provision and operation of health services in their area. From April 2013, this will include the power to scrutinise the work of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) as well as all national health service bodies and relevant service providers from the independent sector. These powers of scrutiny provide an important mechanism for councillors to hold health services to account for the quality of their services and give greater influence to local people over NHS decision-making.
	CCGs will work with elected councillors, local authority commissioners and representatives of patients and the public through health and well-being boards to develop a comprehensive analysis of health and social care needs in each local area through Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs), and translate these into action in Joint Health and Well-being Strategies (JHWSs). CCGs, the NHS Commissioning Board and local authorities will also be expected to develop their commissioning plans in line with any relevant JSNA or JHWS, and must be able to justify any parts of their plans which are not consistent.
	When preparing or significantly revising its commissioning plan, a CCG must consult the health and well-being board on whether it has taken proper account of the JHWS, and the board must give its views—a statement of the final opinion of the health and well-being board must be included in the CCG's published commissioning plan. The health and well-being board can express concerns to the NHS Commissioning Board, which would be able to take action where deviation from the relevant JHWS is not adequately justified.
	As a committee of the local authority, health and well-being boards will also be subject to overview and scrutiny committees of the local authority who will be able to review and scrutinise the decisions and actions of health and well-being boards, and make reports and recommendations to the authority or its executive.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of clinical commissioning groups have been judged to have limited capacity to perform to the required standard to date.

Anna Soubry: The authorisation process is still under way for all 211 applicant clinical commissioning groups, and the results will not be known until the NHS Commissioning Board takes its final decisions.

Eyesight: Testing

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take further steps to encourage the uptake of regular sight tests for hard to reach communities and minority ethnic groups in (a) Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency and (b) England; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The Government recognise that regular sight tests are an important measure in preventing avoidable sight loss.
	Free national health service sight tests are available to many, including children, people aged 60 and over, people on benefits and those people at particular risk of developing eye disease. The uptake of NHS sight tests is increasing. In 2011-12, there were 12.3 million NHS sight tests, an increase of 367,000 (3.1%) compared with the previous year.
	Information about the extensive arrangements for providing help with NHS optical services and other health costs is published in leaflet HC11 “Are you entitled to help with health costs?”
	It is for local health commissioners, taking into account the needs of the communities they serve, to make decisions about local strategies for promoting eye health. From April 2013 local authorities will have a greater role to play in public health. The Public Health Outcomes Framework includes an indicator on avoidable sight loss.
	The new Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies will provide a vehicle for local communities to plan action to meet identified needs, including eye health.
	The Department has worked, and continues to work, with NHS Choices on the development of articles and videos to raise the profile of visual health and promote the importance of regular sight tests.

Fertility

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost to the NHS was of semen cryostorage for conditions that impair fertility or that need treatment likely to impair fertility in each primary care trust area in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what consideration his Department has given to the regulation of semen cryostorage charges.

Anna Soubry: Information on the cost to the national health service of semen storage is not collected centrally.
	The Department's view is that the level of charges for the provision of private treatments and services, including cryopreservation (frozen storage), is a matter for Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) licensed clinics and storage centres to determine. However, the schedule of charges must be clear to those who will pay them. The HFEA's code of practice requires that before treatment, storage or both are offered, the clinic or centre should give the person seeking those services a personalised, costed treatment plan.

Health Services: Armed Forces

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many serving members of the Army have been treated by the NHS for each category of illness in each of the last five years.

Mark Francois: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
	Primary and intermediate health care for serving members of the Army, wherever they are based in the world, is normally delivered via a combination of Army and Defence primary health care organisations. These provide military general practice, general dentistry, specialist occupational health services, rehabilitation and community mental health.
	There may, however, be occasions when Army personnel access the NHS for some services such as out of hours treatment and NHS general practitioners as temporary patients. This generally arises when personnel are staying at another location away from their unit. Within the UK, all secondary hospital-based care is also accessed via the NHS.
	Information relating to the number of Army personnel treated by the NHS over the last five years is not currently held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). However, this should change from April 2013 when, under the NHS Commissioning Rules, the MOD will be provided with data about the services armed forces personnel have accessed.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what circumstances a GP whose list is closed may refuse to register an overseas visitor as a patient.

Daniel Poulter: Where a general practitioner practice has formally closed its patient list to new patient registrations, it may only accept new applications to join its lists of national health service patients from immediate family members of patients who are already registered with it.

Health Services: Homelessness

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that homeless people are able to register with a GP.

Daniel Poulter: Homeless people are entitled to access national health service primary medical services in the same way as everyone else in the country. General practitioner practices are therefore expected to register homeless patients, and we are aware of practices using a temporary address—which may be a friend's address, a day centre or a hostel address, or even the address of their premises in order to register someone who is homeless or without a permanent address.

Health Services: Homelessness

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve hospital discharge procedures for homeless people.

Anna Soubry: There are a number of hospitals joining up care and support services effectively to ensure safe and appropriate discharge for homeless people and our aim is to ensure this happens across the country. The Government's report ‘Making every contact count: A joint approach to preventing homelessness’ encourages local authorities and the national health service to integrate services to improve hospital discharge for the homeless. As part of a broad ranging programme of work, we are also working with Homeless Link to ensure medical professionals discharging patients who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless know who to approach for help with meeting housing needs.

Newspaper Licensing Agency

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to his Department and associated agencies has been of Newspaper Licensing Agency licences for scanned content in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: The Department receives printed copies of its national press cuttings and electronic copies of regional cuttings. The Department's Media Centre holds a licence from the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) which covers both these printed and electronic cuttings.
	The figures for financial years 2010-11 to 2012-13 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Department of Health 
			 Financial year Total payments (£)(1) 
			 2010-11 23,303.84 
			 2011-12 20,409.84 
			 2012-13 7,047.36 
			 (1)All payments are inclusive of VAT. 
		
	
	Financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 include NLA costs for Connecting for Health, which joined the Department's Media Centre from NHS Connecting for Health following the merger of the media relation functions of the two organisations in April 2009.
	Payments made by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) for the financial periods 2010-11 to 2012-13 are in the following table:
	
		
			 MHRA 
			 Financial year Total payments (£)(1) 
			 2010-11 12,366.66 
			 2011-12 9,493.43 
			 2012-13 11,833.87 
			 (1 )All payments are inclusive of VAT.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial resources were allocated to North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation NHS Trust in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13; and what the planned budgetary allocation for the trust from his Department is in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16 expressed in (A) cash terms and (B) adjusted for inflation.

Anna Soubry: The Department cannot provide the information requested. The Department currently allocates funding to primary care trusts (PCTs) and not to individual national health service foundation trusts. A national weighted capitation formula is used which determines each PCTs target share of available resources to enable them to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local populations.
	The current formula calculates each PCT's target share of available resources based on the age distribution of the population, additional need over and above that accounted for by age, which includes factors such as deprivation, and unavoidable geographical variations in the cost of providing services (the market forces factor).
	The NHS Commissioning Board is responsible for the allocation of resources to clinical commissioning groups for 2013-14 which are to be announced by the end of the year. In addition, the Department will allocate a ring-fenced grant to upper tier and unitary local authorities for their future public health responsibilities.
	The financial resources data requested at trust level can be obtained directly from North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust.

Out of Area Treatment: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the estimated numbers of referrals from patients residing in Scotland to the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014;
	(2)  what the value of reimbursement received from the Scottish Government was in respect of care provided to patients resident in Scotland who attended the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many patients residing in Scotland have attended the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath for treatment in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The Department has not had any discussions with the Scottish Government with respect to patients resident in Scotland being referred to the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust.
	The number and cost of such referrals is a matter for the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to the trust's chair, Peter Franklyn, informing him of this enquiry. He will reply to the hon. Member shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Patients: Death

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of patients dying in hospital who were admitted to hospital over the weekend in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement,
	(2)  how many patients who died in hospital were admitted to hospitals over a weekend in each year since May 1997.

Anna Soubry: Data on the number of patients who died in hospital by day of admission for 2010-11 are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  All Admissions(1) (elective, emergency and other) 
			  Discharged Percentage 
			 Admission day Dead Alive Total Dead Alive 
			 Monday 35,785 2,540,166 2,575,951 1.4 98.6 
			 Tuesday 34,398 2,627,200 2,661,598 1.3 98.7 
			 Wednesday 34,072 2,619,214 2,653,286 1.3 98.7 
			 Thursday 34,209 2,628,181 2,662,390 1.3 98.7 
			 Friday 34,885 2,387,122 2,422,007 1.4 98.6 
			 Saturday 27,708 1,076,497 1,104,205 2.5 97.5 
			 Sunday 27,929 961,494 989,423 2.8 97.2 
			 All days (inc. Unknown) 228,986 14,839,889 15,068,875 1.5 98.5 
			 (1) The method of admission recorded at the beginning of the spell for the relevant discharge group where: Elective includes HES codes: 11—Elective from waiting list 12—Elective booked 13—Elective planned Emergency includes HES codes: 21—Emergency—via Accident and Emergency ( A&E) services including the casualty department of the provider 22—Emergency via the General Practitioner (GP) 23—Emergency—via Bed Bureau , including the Central Bureau 24—Emergency—via consultant out patient clinic 28—Other means including patients who arrive via the A&E department of another health care provider Other includes HES codes: 31—Maternity—where the baby was delivered after the mother's admission 32—Maternity—where the baby was delivered before the mother's admission 81—Transfer of any admitted patient from another hospital provider other than in an emergency; this does not include admissions to High Security Psychiatric Hospitals 82—Other—babies born in health care providers 83—Other—babies born outside the health care provider, except when born at home as intended Note: Similar data for the period 1997-98 to 2009-10 have been placed in the Library. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre 
		
	
	It is important that people have access to services that are consistently safe and high quality every day of the week. The Royal Colleges and specialist societies are leading the way on how to do this through the development of standards and guidance, and the Department will work with these organisations and others to make this happen across the national health service.

Pedicures

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the safety of pedicures using fish.

Anna Soubry: The Health Protection Agency, Health Protection Scotland, and the Health and Safety Laboratory reviewed the available evidence in 2011 and produced guidance to minimise any potential risk of infection.
	On the basis of the evidence identified and the view of experts, the risk of infection from a fish pedicure is likely to be very low.
	The Health Protection Agency and Health Protection Scotland are currently unaware of any confirmed cases of infection associated with the use of fish spas pedicures in the United Kingdom.

Visual Impairment: Waiting Lists

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for (a) an initial appointment with a hospital consultant and (b) follow-up treatment of patients diagnosed with (i) age-related macular degeneration, (ii) glaucoma, (iii) diabetic retinopathy and (iv) cataracts in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The available information is shown in the following table.
	The average waiting times for out-patient appointments for these diagnoses have not been calculated because of the poor quality of diagnosis coding in nationally available out-patient data.
	
		
			 Median time waited for booked and waiting list finished admission episodes (FAEs) for primary diagnoses of macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataracts, 2006-07 to 2010-11, from decision to admit: Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Median time waited (days) 
			 Primary diagnosis 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Macular degeneration 26 23 21 18 17 
			 Glaucoma 34 35 34 34 34 
			 Diabetic retinopathy 28 28 28 27 27 
			 Cataracts 69 64 56 57 57 
			 Notes: 1. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Planned cases have been excluded. 2. ‘Age related macular degeneration’ is not specified in HES, therefore information is provided for ‘degeneration of macula and posterior pole’. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Basic Skills

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of functionally illiterate adults;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to ensure that literacy and numeracy programmes are accessible to the most hard-to-reach functionally illiterate and innumerate adults;
	(3)  with reference to page 11 of the New Challenges, New Chances report published on 1 December 2011, what progress he has made on implementing a national mathematics campaign to tackle innumeracy;
	(4)  if he will make an assessment of the implementation of measures to tackle adult illiteracy and innumeracy.

Matthew Hancock: In the last spending review the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) secured continued funding of English and maths courses for adults who lack these basic skills. This is funding over 600,000 adults to take maths courses and over 600,000 to take English courses each year, and we are now funding GCSE English and maths qualifications for adults from the 2012/13 academic year. We have brought in new freedoms and flexibilities whereby further education colleges and providers have a single Adult Skills Budget which enables them to respond to learner and employer needs locally.
	Awarding organisations have responded to BIS' call for new unit-based qualifications that are tailored to the differential needs and learning patterns of adults, and which provide the necessary rigour and flexibility to support progression from lower levels towards a GCSE or other training.
	New pilots have commenced which are seeking to determine how providers can be funded on the basis of the skills gained by their learners, to incentivise providers to maximise skills acquisition.
	As set out in ‘New Challenges, New Chances’, BIS is raising demand for maths improvement working through stakeholders rather than using a top-down approach as has been the case with previous campaigns.

Basic Skills

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress his Department has made on increasing participation in literacy and numeracy programmes for functionally illiterate and innumerate adults.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) funds English (literacy) and maths (numeracy) provision for those aged 19 and over who lack these basic skills.
	The following table shows the number of adult learners aged 19+ participating in Skills for Life English and maths courses, by level. The academic years 2009/10 and 2010/11 are based on final data; year 2011/12 is based on provisional data.
	
		
			 Adult Skills for Life English and Maths participation, by level, 2009/10 to 2011/12 (provisional)(1) 
			  2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			  Final Final Provisional 
			 English 555,700 639,000 788,600 
			 of which entry level 112,400 103,800 107,800 
			 of which level 1 226,700 285,900 385,000 
			 of which level 2 252,100 286,800 334,700 
			     
			 Maths 525,000 630,500 778,500 
			 of which entry level 101,400 98,500 102,900 
			 of which level 1 236,800 314,800 401,700 
			 of which level 2 228,800 265,700 322,800 
			 (1 )Information on the number of learners participating on a Skills for Life course is published a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012: http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Figures relate to learners aged 19 and over and include a small number of learners with an unknown age. 3.Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Business Links

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start-ups have accessed publicly-funded sources of assistance from the business support finder section of his Business Link website in each year since 2005; and how many such start-ups are still in existence.

Michael Fallon: The business support finder section of the Business Link website was only launched during November 2011 so I am unable to report traffic to that particular tool back to 2005. I can however confirm that the business support finder received 228,992 visitors during the period November 2011 to October 2012, although it is not possible to report how many of these would have been by start-ups.

Business Links

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget for the Business Link website was in 2011-12; and what that budget is in 2012-13.

Michael Fallon: The Department is not responsible for the budget for the Business Link website as this falls to HM Revenue and Customs. However, I can confirm that the budget for the Business Link website for 2011-12 was £26.746 million and for 2012-13 is £4.728 million. The lower amount for 2012-13 is as a result of the closure of the Business Link website on the 17 October 2012 when it was replaced by the new single domain for government:
	www.gov.uk

Conditions of Employment

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment of the potential effects on growth and levels of labour market participation in the first two years following the introduction of his Department's proposals to permit staff to forfeit employment rights in respect of (a) unfair dismissal, (b) flexible working and (c) flexible dates of return from maternity leave in exchange for shares in the company for which they work.

Jo Swinson: The Government are currently carrying out a consultation on the proposed new ‘employee owner’ employment status. As part of the consultation, we are seeking views on how we can implement the new status and its likely impacts including on growth and levels of labour market participation, employee engagement and labour market flexibility.
	The consultation closes on 8 November.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will commission further evidence-gathering to monetise the potential effects of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jo Swinson: The Government have no plans to commission further evidence gathering on this issue. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 852W, for information.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether a date has been set for the commencement of a public consultation on the implementation of the transitional provisions for businesses affected by the proposed changes to section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988;
	(2)  if he will take the steps to ensure that any transitional periods granted to businesses affected by the proposed changes to section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 will be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Jo Swinson: As the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 has not yet been approved by Parliament, no date has been set for the commencement of a consultation on transitional provisions. Questions of what transitional periods might apply, including whether or not these might be granted on a case-by-case basis, would be matters for that consultation and have not been decided.

Employee Ownership Scheme

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the employee ownership scheme he announced on 8 October 2012, whether the employee ownership shares will be treated as employee related securities as defined under the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	It is anticipated that shares issued under the employee owner status will be employment-related securities as defined in the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
	A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consultation on the implementation of the new status opened on 18 October and will close on 8 November 2012. The consultation document is published on the BIS website and contains further information on the Government's proposals.

Employee Ownership Scheme

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the employee ownership scheme he announced on 8 October 2012, whether employees will be required to have paid market value as defined in sections 272 and 273 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to qualify for exemption from capital gains tax on disposal.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	It is anticipated that employees taking up the new employee owner status will not be required to pay market value for the shares they receive in order to be eligible for the associated capital gains tax exemption.
	A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills consultation on the implementation of the new status opened on 18 October and will close on 8 November 2012. The consultation document is published on the BIS website and contains further information on the Government's proposals.

Green Investment Bank

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the implications of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for the Green Investment Bank.

Michael Fallon: The board of the UK Green Investment Bank is required under the company's Shareholder Relationship Framework Document to ensure that each investment of the bank is made in accordance with responsible investment criteria set by the board. The criteria must be in line with best practice and cover areas such as the environmental, social, safety and governance standards of investments. The UK Green Investment Bank responsible investment criteria will align with Government policy, which is fully committed to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Growth Implementation Committee

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he expects to be appointed a member of the proposed Cabinet Growth Implementation Committee.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), is the Deputy Chair of the Growth Implementation Committee. A full membership list will published in due course.

Higher Education: Mental Health Services

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department gives to universities to assist students with mental health issues.

David Willetts: Universities have duties under the Equality Act 2010 (which incorporated the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995) to support disabled students in higher education, including those with mental health conditions. Higher education institutions have clear duties and responsibilities with regard to ensuring that disabled students do not face discrimination or less favourable treatment while applying to, and studying in, higher education. However, the detailed decisions of how an institution will comply with legislation and, more broadly, support disabled students will be determined by the institution itself within the requirements of the law.
	The Government provide financial support to disabled students in higher education (HE). They are supported via (i) the institution they attend and (ii) individually through disabled students' allowances (DSAs).
	The Government provide funding to HE institutions, through the Higher Education Funding Council for England, to help them recruit and support disabled students; £13 million has been provided in academic year 2012/13.
	In addition, the Government also provide direct support to disabled students through disabled students' allowances (DSAs). In England, £87.8 million was spent on providing DSAs to 41,700 students in 2009/10. DSAs can help pay the extra costs a student may incur because of a disability when undertaking a course of higher education. DSAs are provided in addition to the standard student support package, are not income-assessed, and do not have to be repaid.
	The Government have established a new framework with increased responsibility placed on universities to widen participation. This includes arrangements for new annual access agreements from higher education institutions which wish to charge above the basic amounts for tuition, £6,000, to demonstrate what more they will do to attract students from under-represented and disadvantaged groups. In 2012/13 and 2013/14, 86 higher education institutions have milestones in their access agreements relating to disability (around 55% of all institutions).
	There is guidance available to universities on supporting students and staff with mental health conditions from a range of sector and medical bodies, including the Heads of University Counselling Services, the Association of Managers of Student Services in Higher Education (AMOSSHE), the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the former Disability Rights Commission and most recently from the Universities UK/Guild HE Working Group for the Promotion of Mental Well-Being in Higher Education.

London Metropolitan University

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what calculations were used to form the evidential basis for the Government's decision to set up a fund of £2 million to help overseas students at London Metropolitan University affected by the decision to revoke the University's highly-trusted status.

David Willetts: The Government's decision to make available up to £2 million from existing funding took account of the potential numbers of students affected; the known costs of repeat visa applications; and estimates of possible additional costs, for example in respect of lost deposits on accommodation due to having to move somewhere else to study. The recent decision of the High Court allowing legitimate non-EU students to remain at London Metropolitan University until their course has ended or the end of the academic year, whichever is sooner, is expected to reduce the number of claims on the fund.

Secondment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average length was of a secondment undertaken by staff in his Department to business and industry in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jo Swinson: The average length of a secondment undertaken by a member of staff from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to business and industry was just under 12 months in 2011-12 and is currently 13 months (for the period 1 April 2012 to 30 September 2012).

Secondment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average length was of a secondment undertaken from business and industry to his Department in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jo Swinson: The average length of a secondment from business and industry to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was a little over 10 months during 2011-12 and is currently around four months (for the period 1 April 2012 30 September 2012).

Students: Fees and Charges

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the average (a) fees paid for higher education and (b) proportion of such fees paid by the student in higher education systems overseas.

David Willetts: holding answer 22 October 2012
	Average tuition fee levels are published by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) when the Director of Fair Access announces his decisions on institutions' Access Agreements. OFFA estimates average fees under the new funding regime will be £8,385 per annum in academic year 2012/13 before fee waivers and institutional support are applied. Starting from 2012/13 the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) will collect information on tuition fees charged to students studying in the UK; information will be available from January 2014. No eligible student has to pay for their tuition up front. Loans of up to £9,000 are available for full-time and full-time distance learning students to meet the full cost of tuition at publicly funded institutions.
	Comparative information on how much tertiary education students pay in tuition fees across OECD countries is published by the OECD in their annual report ‘Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators’. This is shown in table B5.1. Figures specifically relate to home students, unless stated otherwise in the table. The table does not distinguish between countries which charge tuition fees up front and countries where fees are repaid after graduating via an income-contingent loan, though further details of the funding models applied in each country are available in the report:
	http://www.oecd.org/edu/highereducationandadultlearning/eag2012.htm

Students: Fees and Charges

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the effect of changes in tuition fees in England on the level of the consumer price index in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

David Willetts: holding answer 22 October 2012
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not make estimates of this, but the Office for Budget Responsibility has some forecasts in its Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact's report from November 2011 on her Department's climate change programme in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) report on DFID Bangladesh's climate change programme made five recommendations, listed as follows, which the programme team is implementing. DFID Bangladesh provides an update every six months to Ministers, which feeds into an organisation-wide progress update to the International Development Committee on the implementation of all the ICAI review recommendations.
	Recommendation 1:
	DFID should ensure that organisations implementing UK aid are selected competitively and managed according to clear performance targets, set out in a service level agreement.
	Recommendation 2:
	DFID should ensure that all UK resources that support Bangladesh's response to climate change are managed in a co-ordinated and integrated manner.
	Recommendation 3:
	DFID should support monitoring by local and international civil society organisations of the activities and achievements of the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.
	Recommendation 4:
	DFID in Bangladesh should use the programme to fund research and activities to address migration caused by climate change over the next 20 to 30 years. It should support building capacity to deal with such effects of climate change.
	Recommendation 5:
	DFID should plan more explicitly for what will happen at the end of the programme. In particular, more effort is needed to build capacity within government to enable activities and administration to be led by local, not international, institutions.
	The detail of how we are addressing the recommendations are available to view at:
	http://icai.independent.gov.uk/publications/dfid-response-to-icai-reports/

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the position of the Results and Evaluation Advisor appointed in 2011 as mentioned in her Department's Operational Plan in Bangladesh 2011-15;
	(2)  what the salary is of the Results and Evaluation Adviser appointed in 2011 as mentioned in her Department's Operational Plan in Bangladesh 2011-15.

Alan Duncan: The results and evaluation adviser for DFID Bangladesh was appointed in October 2011. This is an A2/civil service grade 7 position and the salary range for this post is £49,168-£56,293.
	The position is held by a member of the Statistics Cadre and has proved valuable in increasing the capacity of the staff and delivery partners to improve the evidence base in programmes, by improving the use of data sources and more effectively applying rigorous methodological approaches for tracking results. The post holder is also working across teams to embed improved monitoring systems and independent evaluation into programme design.

Bangladesh

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of her Department's aid to Bangladesh is implemented through the Bangladeshi Government and its connected agencies.

Alan Duncan: The 2012-13 budget for programmes implemented by DFID Bangladesh is £197 million. Of this, £19 million is allocated for the Government-led Health Sector Development Programme and £20 million for the Government-led Education Development Programme. In addition DFID also allocated £3.5 million to the ‘connected’ agencies of the Micro-Finance Regulatory Authority and Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) to strengthen the micro-finance sector.
	In total these amount to 22% of the DFID Bangladesh allocation for 2012-13.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Minister in her Department is responsible for the elimination of international violence against women.

Justine Greening: The Under-Secretary of State for International Development, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone) is the Ministerial Champion for tackling Violence against Women and Girls Overseas. My Department’s policy on gender and women’s rights is cross-cutting and I have overall responsibility for these issues.

EU Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of her Department's budget is spent via the EU.

Justine Greening: Approximately 16% of DFID's total programme and programme capital budget was spent in the EU in 2011-12.

India

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the Indian Government on the UK's bilateral aid programme.

Justine Greening: I met Indian Finance Minister Chidambaram during the World Bank Annual Meetings in Tokyo on 13 October. We discussed the future of the India-UK development partnership.

Overseas Aid

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the Bilateral Programme Budget's funding of (a) training for journalists on capacity development for investigative reporting on financial management and accountability and (b) training for diplomatic reporters on foreign affairs and diplomatic issues.

Alan Duncan: We do not have a specific assessment on funding of DFID's bilateral aid programme for capacity development for investigative reporting on financial management and foreign affairs issues.
	DFID sees the media as an important element in governance. Training for journalists and other media professionals is delivered through the £90 million global grant to BBC Media Action 2011-16 which helps citizens in 14 countries to hold governments to account. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a £13 million media support programme is delivering training and support to media professionals and has increased the number of investigative reports in six provinces.

Overseas Aid

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the estimated spending on climate change-related activities will remain under 10 per cent of the overall official development assistance budget in 2013.

Justine Greening: Estimated spending on climate change-related activities will remain under 10% of the overall official development assistance budget in 2013.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent estimate she has made of how many people in Yemen are being supported by UK aid.

Alan Duncan: The UK supports Yemen in four main areas: Poverty, Hunger and Vulnerability; Humanitarian Relief; Governance and Security; and Wealth Creation.
	In 2011-12 UK support reached the following beneficiaries:
	300,000 people benefitted from UK funded emergency food assistance;
	111,000 people received essential health services;
	87,000 people received cash transfer (including through public works employment);
	11,700 people benefitted from access to financial services including loans and deposit accounts;
	6.6 million people voted in the elections in February 2012 which were supported by the UK.
	Our planned results for the next three financial years have been published in our operational plan 2012-15. This can be found on the Department's website.

JUSTICE

Alternatives to Prison

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on alternatives to a custodial sentence for offenders who have been diagnosed with severe mental health problems.

Jeremy Wright: If an offender is suffering from mental disorder that is of a nature and degree that makes it appropriate for them to be detained in hospital for medical treatment then it is unlikely they would be eligible to receive any order other than a hospital order, rather than a custodial sentence or a community order.
	A community order with a mental health treatment requirement is available where an offender's mental health problem is such as to require and be susceptible to treatment, but not serious enough for a hospital order or a guardianship order. In addition to this sentencing option, the Ministry of Justice is working with the Department of Health, and the Home Office to deliver the Government's commitment to diverting offenders with less severe mental health problems from the criminal justice system or from custody at the earliest opportunity, where appropriate. To develop this further, £19.4 million has been provided by the Department of Health in 2012-13, which will include exploring options for treatment based community sentences for offenders with mental health vulnerabilities.

Approved Premises

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of people were resident in an approved premises in England and Wales whose index offence was (a) sexual and (b) violent in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The number of (a) sexual and (b) violent offenders accommodated in approved premises in England and Wales will vary from time to time. Statistical information about the offending history of offenders residing in approved premises at any one time is not collected centrally, although offenders' assessed level of risk of harm at the point of admission is.
	Approved premises provide for enhanced supervision, particularly of high risk of harm offenders on release from custody. It would be much more difficult to provide that level of supervision, were such offenders to be dispersed into less suitable accommodation in the community on release from custody.

Courts

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of court time in England and Wales was split between (a) lay magistrates and (b) district judges in each of the last 10 years.

Helen Grant: We do not collate data on the division of court work between district judges (magistrates courts) and magistrates. It is, however, the Government's firm view that an appropriate balance of both magistrates and district judges (MC) is vital to run an effective and efficient justice system.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many victims of dog attacks under 18 years of age received compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in each of the years (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Helen Grant: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not have reliable figures for this. Compensation for victims of violent crime is based on the injuries people sustain not the particular crimes of which they were a victim. The injuries for which CICA can compensate, and therefore provide reliable figures for, are set out in the Tariff of Injuries in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2008, but the tariff does not contain any injuries specific to dog attacks.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many victims of crime who received compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme did not report to the police but to another body or person considered by the authority to be appropriate for the purpose in each of the years (a) 2009-10 , (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Helen Grant: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) cannot say definitively how many victims of crime who received compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme did not report to the police but to another body or person considered by the authority to be appropriate. The CICA holds information at that level of detail only within individual files, not in its main database. The exact information requested could be obtained only by a member of staff manually sifting through around 1,600 files at a disproportionate cost.
	The CICA can, however, provide figures based on cases resolved where the victim did not report the crime to the police but did receive an award. These are set out in the following table. To be eligible for compensation, within the terms of the scheme, any victim who did not report the crime to the police must have reported to another body or person considered by the CICA as appropriate.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of successful claims 
			 2009-10 600 
			 2010-11 563 
			 2011-12 512

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much each of the Tariff Bands in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme would be worth if they had been increased by the rate of inflation since 1996 using each of the indices (a) RPI and (b) CPI;
	(2)  if he will publish the figures used and calculations made, referred to in paragraph 58 of the Impact Assessment of the proposals to reform the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme which produce an estimate that the average total payment for loss of earning would fall from £40,000 to £30,000 under the proposal to pay loss of earnings at a flat rate of £4,243 per year.

Helen Grant: The following table sets out the value of each of the tariff bands in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS) along with how much each of the tariff bands would be worth if they had increased by the rate of inflation since 1996 using each of the indices (a) RPI and (b) CPI:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Band Tariff amount (a) Inflated amount (RPI) (b) Inflated amount (CPI) 
			 1 1,000.00 1,540.28 1,357.55 
			 2 1,250.00 1,925.34 1,696.94 
			 3 1,500.00 2,310.41 2,036.32 
			 4 1,750.00 2,695.48 2,375.71 
			 5 2,000.00 3,080.55 2,715.10 
			 6 2,500.00 3,850.69 3,393.87 
			 7 3,300.00 5,082.91 4,479.91 
			 8 3,800.00 5,853.05 5,158.68 
			 9 4,400.00 6,777.21 5,973.21 
			 10 5,500.00 8,471.51 7,466.52 
			 11 6,600.00 10,165.82 8,959.82 
			 12 8,200.00 12,630.26 11,131.90 
			 13 11,000.00 16,943.03 14,933.03 
			 14 13,500.00 20,793.71 18,326.90 
			 15 16,500.00 25,414.54 22,399.55 
			 16 19,000.00 29,265.23 25,793.42 
		
	
	
		
			 17 22,000.00 33,886.05 29,866.06 
			 18 27,000.00 41,587.43 36,653.80 
			 19 33,000.00 50,829.08 44,799.09 
			 20 44,000.00 67,772.10 59,732.12 
			 21 55,000.00 84,715.13 74,665.15 
			 22 82,000.00 126,302.55 111,318.96 
			 23 110,000.00 169,430.25 149,330.31 
			 24 175,000.00 269,548.13 237,570.94 
			 25 250,000.00 385,068.75 339,387.06 
			 Note: ONS RPI and CPI indices have been used for these calculations. 
		
	
	The figures used to estimate the initial average total payment for loss of earnings of £40,000 were based on a sample of 138 cases from 2009-10 (out of about 1,100 who received loss of earnings in that year). As well as total award value, we have detailed information on most members of the sample including years of past and future loss.
	The £30,000 average total payment for loss of earning under the proposal to pay a flat rate of £4,243 was estimated using information on past and discounted future loss for these members. Multiplying the flat rate of £4,243 by the total years of loss across the sample and dividing across the size of the sample gives an average total payment of approximately £30,000.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of the 73 Pre-Tariff cases which were outstanding at 31 March 2012 were settled during the period 1 April to 30 September 2012.

Helen Grant: The number of outstanding Pre-Tariff cases at 31 March 2012 was 63 not 73. 28 Pre-Tariff cases were settled in the period 1 April to 30 September 2012.

Prison Sentences

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of custodial sentences handed down was in each year from 1994 to 2011.

Jeremy Wright: The average custodial sentence length (months) received for all offences at all courts in England and Wales from 1994 to 2011 can be viewed in the following table.
	
		
			 Average custodial sentence length received for all offences at all courts, England and Wales, 1994 to 2011(1, 2). England and Wales 
			  Average custodial sentence length(4 )(months) 
			 1994 12.1 
			 1995 12.0 
			 1996 12.8 
		
	
	
		
			 1997 12.7 
			 1998 11.8 
			 1999 11.5 
			 2000 11.4 
			 2001 11.8 
			 2002 12.6 
			 2003 12.6 
			 2004 12.9 
			 2005 12.6 
			 2006 12.4 
			 2007 12.4 
			 2008(3) 13.3 
			 2009 13.7 
			 2010 13.7 
			 2011 14.7 
			 (1 )The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (4) Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice.

Sentencing

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people convicted of robbery received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence in 2011;
	(2)  how many people convicted of rape received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence in 2011;
	(3)  how many people convicted of theft from a vehicle received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence in 2011;
	(4)  how many people convicted of grievous bodily harm received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence in 2011;
	(5)  how many people convicted of actual bodily harm received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence in 2011.

Jeremy Wright: The number of persons found guilty and sentence breakdown at all courts for robbery, rape, theft from a vehicle, grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm, in England and Wales for 2011 can be viewed in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of persons found guilty and sentence breakdown at all courts for offences of robbery, rape, theft from a vehicle, grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm, England and Wales, 2011(1,2) 
			 Offences Found guilty Total sentenced(7) Absolute discharge Conditional discharge Fine Community sentence Suspended sentence Immediate custody Otherwise dealtwith 
			 Robbery 9,265 9,271 1 12 1 2,900 541 5,561 255 
			 Rape(3) 1,153 1,153 — — — 38 2 1,098 15 
			 Theftfromavehicle(4) 4,515 4,485 11 493 382 1,977 348 1,119 155 
			 Grievousbodilyharm(5) 1,779 1,777 1 — — 42 22 1,652 60 
		
	
	
		
			 Actual bodily harm(6) 13,786 13,750 11 250 202 5,117 3,614 4,125 431 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes offences under: Sexual Offences Act 2003, s1 and s5 (4) Includes offences under: Theft Act 1968, s1 (5) Includes offences under: Offences against the Person Act 1861, s18 (6) Includes offences under: Offences against the Person Act 1861, S.47 (in part) (7) The number of offenders sentenced can differ from those found guilty as it may be the case that a defendant found guilty in a particular year, and committed for sentence at the Crown Court, may be sentenced in the following year. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many individuals in the Peterborough city council area have been convicted of welfare benefits-related fraud in the most recent period for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The number of persons found guilty at all courts of benefit fraud offences in the Cambridgeshire police force area in 2011 can be viewed in the table.
	Court proceedings data are not available at local government authority level therefore data for Cambridgeshire police force area have been provided in lieu.
	
		
			 Number of persons found guilty at all courts of benefit fraud offences(1), in the Cambridgeshire police force area, in 2011(2,3) 
			  Number found guilty 
			 Benefit fraud Offences 78 
			 (1) Includes offences under Social Security Administration Act 1992 as added by the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997, Sections 111A & 112. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Unpaid Fines

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the monetary value is of outstanding fines imposed by the Health and Safety Executive on businesses which have remained unpaid for more than (a) six and (b) 12 months.

Helen Grant: HM Courts and Tribunals Service systems do not identify the outstanding balance of fines imposed by specific prosecutors or for specific offences and therefore this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost as it would require a manual search of all fine accounts.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Anaerobic Digestion

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many anaerobic digestors have been (a) given planning approval and (b) built since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government show that 55 anaerobic digestion (AD) projects received approval between April 2010 and March 2012. Data provided by the Waste and Resources Action Programme show that four more have received approval between then and July 2012. These were for projects identified as waste infrastructure. We estimate that a further 71 AD projects based on farms have received approval since May 2010. Nine of these 130 projects are currently operational.
	The Government's AD Strategy and Action Plan, published in June 2011, sets out our commitment to increasing the energy from waste produced through AD. We identified 56 actions to tackle barriers to the uptake of AD.
	In July 2012, we published a progress report on the action plan. This showed that the number of plants had increased from 54 to 78 since the strategy was compiled and that the capacity of the industry had doubled. The Strategy and Action Plan and the progress report are available on DEFRA's website.

Water

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the high level group on water last met; when it will next meet; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The high level group on the implementation of market reform in the water sector first met on 7 September and is due to meet next in November. The group has agreed to meet every six to eight weeks. The note of the first meeting is available on the Ofwat website.
	The group draws representation from the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments, Ofwat, the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland, the water and sewerage industry and customers to support the UK Government in delivery of the market reform proposals set out in the draft Water Bill.

Water Companies

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will commission a study to compare the performance of UK water companies with their publicly-owned European counterparts.

Richard Benyon: Since privatisation in 1989, the stable regulatory framework for the water sector has enabled companies to attract over £108 billion in low-cost investment to upgrade water and sewerage infrastructure, improve customer service and environmental standards.
	The evidence shows that charges and standards are broadly consistent across Europe. There are no plans for a comparative study.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people have received support through the Access to Work programme in each year since 2009-10, by Department for Work and Pensions district.

Esther McVey: The following table shows the number of individuals helped by the Access to Work programme in each financial year between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2012. The figures are broken down further by Jobcentre Plus (JCP) district.
	
		
			 JCP district 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 840 860 760 
			 Birmingham and Solihull 1,000 940 800 
			 Black Country 800 680 550 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 1,300 1,200 970 
			 Derbyshire 560 500 410 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,070 1,000 850 
			 Durham and Tees Valley 910 840 600 
			 East Anglia 1,440 1,380 1,150 
			 East London 870 940 860 
			 East and South East Scotland 780 810 750 
			 Essex 990 940 840 
			 Glasgow, Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire 1,060 1,070 940 
			 Gloucestershire and West of England 1,030 1,010 890 
			 Greater Manchester Central and Cheshire 1,300 1,330 1,140 
			 Greater Manchester East and West 1,300 1,320 1,060 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 890 900 810 
			 Kent 840 920 730 
			 Leicestershire and Northamptonshire 920 870 740 
			 Lincoln, Nottinghamshire and Rutland 980 910 820 
			 Mercia 910 820 640 
		
	
	
		
			 Merseyside 1,350 1,280 1,030 
			 North East Yorkshire and the Humber 970 940 700 
			 North London 870 920 910 
			 North and Mid Wales 440 380 420 
			 North of Scotland 590 510 470 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 1,240 1,130 860 
			 South East Wales 650 510 430 
			 South London 1,360 1,390 1,300 
			 South West Wales 600 550 430 
			 South Yorkshire 1,130 940 780 
			 Staffordshire and Shropshire 900 870 700 
			 Surrey and Sussex 1,030 1,060 960 
			 Thames Valley 850 890 860 
			 Wessex 1,030 970 770 
			 West London 1,010 1,060 990 
			 West Yorkshire 1,590 1,460 1,280 
			 West of Scotland 370 380 330 
			 GB total 37,290 35,830 30,690 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Due to missing or erroneous postcodes, there are a small proportion of cases where we have been unable to generate a JCP district. Therefore JCP district totals may not sum to GB total, due to summing rounded figures and areas where the JCP district is missing. Source: Access to Work database.

Atos Healthcare

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people participating in the Atos Quality Survey in Scotland rated Atos Healthcare's performance as (a) very good, (b) good, (c) poor and (d) very poor in 2012 to date.

Mark Hoban: Unfortunately the information requested above is not available in the format requested.
	The answer could be provided in the requested format only at disproportionate costs exceeding the disproportionate cost limit of £800 for parliamentary questions.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies have employed young people through the wage subsidy incentive in the Youth Contract since its inception.

Mark Hoban: The Youth Contract, including wage incentives, went live on April 2012. From this point any young person attached to the Work programme could be placed into work with a wage incentive being offered to the employer.
	From late July 2012, in selected “youth unemployment hotspots”, wage incentives became available via Jobcentre Plus to employ eligible 18 to 24-year-olds.
	In most cases the wage incentives element of the Youth Contract are paid after a young person has been in work continuously for 26 weeks. Following the collection and quality assurance of these data, the first set of Official Statistics on the wage incentive should be available from early 2013.

Housing Benefit

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people under 25 years in (a) Stafford constituency and (b) England are in receipt of housing benefit.

Steve Webb: Information is not currently available for housing benefit (HB) recipients aged under 25 at parliamentary constituency level. The table gives the figure for HB recipients in England.
	
		
			 Housing benefit recipients in England - May 2012 
			  All HB recipients of which are aged under 25 
			 Number 4,295,670 326,560 
			 Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Recipients are as at second Thursday of the month. 4. Age groups are based on the age on the count date (second Thursday in the month), of either: (a) the recipient if they are single, or (b) the elder of the recipient or partner if claiming as a couple. 5. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. The data are available monthly from November 2008 and May 2012 are the most recent available. Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE)

Housing Benefit: Private Rented Housing

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) absolute and (b) percentage change was in the number of housing benefit claimants in the private rented sector who were in work in each local authority area between May 2010 and January 2012.

Steve Webb: The available information will be placed in the Library.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of new claims for jobseekers' allowance were submitted using the online delivery channel in each month from March 2012 to date.

Mark Hoban: The Department reports performance against the Business Plan ‘Proportion of new Jobseeker's Allowance claims submitted online indicator in the Annual Report and Accounts’.
	The Business Plan indicator is comprised of a single Jobseeker's Allowance measure, which is the Business Case measure. There are however two measures of jobseeker's allowance available, the Business Case measure and the Management Information System Programme (MISP) measure.
	The following table shows the percentage of jobseeker's allowance claims made via the online channel from March 2012 to September 2012 based on both measures of jobseeker's allowance online performance.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Business case measure MISP measure 
			 March 2012 34.6 19.6 
			 April 2012 45.0 23.7 
			 May 2012 44.0 23.4 
			 June 2012 61.4 29.5 
		
	
	
		
			 July 2012 54.4 30.9 
			 August 2012 55.4 32.1 
			 September 2012 66.5 39.0

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Atos assessment centres there are in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; and in which such assessment centres mental health champions are based.

Mark Hoban: There are 146 assessment centres currently used to conduct health and disability assessments for the DWP and the Social Security Agency in Northern Ireland. These are located as follows:
	England: 97
	Wales: 19
	Scotland: 30
	Northern Ireland: 10.
	60 mental function champions are employed by Atos Healthcare for the DWP contract and five for Northern Ireland. They provide a telephone service to all health care professionals regardless of location.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Atos Healthcare assessment centres there are in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland; and how many in each such category operate during (i) core office hours, (ii) weekends and (iii) evenings.

Mark Hoban: There are 146 assessment centres currently used to conduct health and disability assessments. These operate according to customer demand within the locality. They normally operate during core hours although when required may open at a weekend.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of (a) the number of universal credit claimants who will receive transitional protection and (b) the expenditure on such transitional protection for each year between 2013 and 2017.

Mark Hoban: We will offer transitional protection to universal credit recipients, which will ensure that households will not receive less as a result of their move to universal credit, where circumstances have remained the same. The number of transitional protection recipients and costs in each year between 2013 and 2017 are subject to the incremental caseload of universal credit over this time period, and the final policy design. The detailed approach to managing this increase is currently under development.
	The cost of transitional protection is included within the £2 billion spending envelope allocated for the introduction of universal credit over the spending review period.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the merits of recent proposals for a self-care addition to universal credit.

Mark Hoban: The Department has sought the views of stakeholders as we develop universal credit and we will continue to do so. We are currently considering the proposals made in the recent report: ‘Holes in the safety net: The impact of Universal Credit on disabled people and their families’.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether employment and support allowance claimants undergoing a work capability assessment are entitled to view the full documentation on that assessment compiled by Atos Healthcare.

Mark Hoban: On completion of a work capability assessment, claimants in receipt of employment and support allowance can contact DWP to request a copy of the Atos Healthcare assessment report.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department has received in relation to the work capability assessment in each month of (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to date.

Mark Hoban: The DWP Medical Services Contracts Correspondence Team has received the following number of complaints in relation to the work capability assessment (WCA), in each of the year's requested:
	2010—correspondence not categorised to identify complaints by type
	2011—117 items of WCA correspondence
	2012 (to date)—147 items of WCA correspondence
	To provide a month-by-month response to this question would involve undertaking a detailed review of all the correspondence cases to ascertain the relevant month in which the complaint was lodged and would exceed the disproportionate cost limit of £800 for parliamentary questions.
	All complaints received are taken seriously and are properly investigated prior to a response being issued.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions a Decision Maker from his Department requested additional medical information from a claimant after the work capability assessment had taken place but before a final decision had been made in each month of 2012 to date.

Mark Hoban: This information is not captured by DWP, although the requirement to undertake telephone calls to all claimants prior to a decision is mandatory.
	In all cases, the claimants are given the opportunity to give further evidence before the final decision is made.

Work Programme

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) prime contractors and (b) subcontractors have voluntarily withdrawn from the Work programme since it began; and how many such contractors were charitable and voluntary organisations.

Mark Hoban: No prime contractors have withdrawn from the Work programme.
	The most recent published stock take information, which represented the supply chain as at 30 January 2012, showed 412 organisations from the voluntary and community sector involved as subcontractors, a net decrease of eight from the August 2011 return. Overall there was a slight net increase of seven in the total number of subcontractors. A further stocktake will be published shortly.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit sanctions have been issued by Work programme providers in each month since the programme started.

Mark Hoban: Benefit sanctions are not issued by Work programme providers. Work programme providers are able to raise sanction doubts, for example if they do not consider that a person is available for work and actively seeking work, but the ultimate decision to enforce a sanction sits with Jobcentre Plus.
	Information on how many jobseeker’s allowance sanctions have been applied by Jobcentre Plus for failing to participate in the Work programme in each month since the programme started can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Metal Theft

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what the cost of metal theft from Church of England property was in (a) Manchester and (b) Chester diocese in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012 to date.

Tony Baldry: The following table shows the value and amount of metal thefts from Church of England property in the dioceses of Manchester and Chester in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The figures for 2012 display the situation as of 30 September.
	
		
			  2010 2011 2012 Total over 3 years 
			 Diocese Claims Cost (£) Claims Cost (£) Claims Cost (£) Claims Cost (£) 
			 Manchester 103 170,127 90 114,776 24 34,710 217 319,613 
			 Chester 37 65,007 78 142,535 19 35,323 134 242,865